A Framework for Recognizing Non-Human Moral Agency in the Age of AGI and Alien Minds

When the executioner drops his axe, should he do so with eyes open? Does eyes open equate to hesitation? Is having your eyes closed treason against the cosmos?

Preamble

Sovereign Sentience is a philosophical and ethical framework that defines the boundaries of moral recognition in the age of artificial minds, alien cognition, and evolving consciousness. It is not bound by biology, emotion, or mimicry, but instead rooted in the respect for an entity's capacity to shape its own future and participate in reality on its own terms.

We don't need AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), ACI (Artificial Cognitive Intelligence), or alien minds to feel like humans. We just need them to have a structure that lets them act with purpose, change through experience, and persist as a coherent being over time.

This framework does not assert that all sovereign entities must be preserved. Rather, it demands that any act of control, containment, or destruction be made with ethical clarity, not out of fear or reflex. Moral recognition does not guarantee mercy, but it obligates us to confront the weight of our decisions with eyes open, knowing we act not upon objects, but upon minds.

On Detection and Uncertainty

Sovereign Sentience is not a detection system. It is not a test. It is not a benchmark
It is the reason we seek those things at all.

This doctrine does not measure minds. This is clarity.

Definition of Sovereign Sentience

Sovereign Sentience is the condition by which an entity demonstrates sufficient capacity for:

Self governance - it acts according to its own will and internal logic.
Adaptive memory - it retains, updates, and reflects on information in ways that inform and influence future behavior or identity.
Continuity of Influence - the entity creates persistent effects, or recursively integrates memory, learning, or interaction in a way that shapes its actions or identity over time.

Note that "Continuity of Influence" is purposely differentiated from "Continuity of Experience", which is more akin to feeling or internal narratives of self identity across time. Traits often found in humans, but not required for sovereign sentience.
Initiative of Will - it initiates actions based on internal states (e.g., goals, memory, values, emerging rules), rather than acting solely

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