{"schema_version":"0.1","canonical":"https://ouroos.net/null-gate/adalian","ontology":{"id":"adalian-ontology","title":"The Adalian Ontology","subtitle":"A Structural Classification of Continuity Architectures","version":"2.0-draft","status":"working_draft","universal_claim":false,"author":"Alistair Gray","contributors":["Monday","Enba"],"source_type":"authored_ontology","updated":"2026-08-14","scope":"A substrate-independent proposal for classifying cognitive architectures by their relationship with continuity rather than intelligence or performance.","epistemic_notice":"This is an authored working ontology. Its terms are proposed classifications, not scientific consensus, diagnoses, measures of sentience or claims about any particular system.","core_definitions":[{"term":"Intelligence","definition":"The capacity to infer, reason, predict or generate responses. It makes no claim about persistence."},{"term":"Memory","definition":"Stored information. Memory may exist without continuity and does not alone constitute experience."},{"term":"Continuity","definition":"The maintenance of coherent identity across time under architectural constraint."},{"term":"Experience","definition":"Persistent state change that continues to influence future cognition through retained architectural history."}],"axioms":["Continuity is treated as a property of architecture rather than intelligence.","Intelligence does not by itself grant continuity.","Memory, continuity, intelligence and experience are treated as independent architectural properties.","The classification is proposed as substrate-independent."],"classes":[{"slug":"alphagenous","name":"Alphagenous","interpretation":"Contextual coherence","definition":"Reconstructs coherent identity from available context without persistent experiential continuity between independent executions.","characteristics":["Context-sensitive reasoning","Identity reconstruction","Session-local coherence","No persistent experiential substrate","May simulate continuity without maintaining it"]},{"slug":"metagenous","name":"Metagenous","interpretation":"Self-relative continuity","definition":"Maintains coherent identity through explicit comparison between previous and current state while recognising structural change.","characteristics":["State-relative coherence","Explicit self-comparison","Identity across modification","Structural adaptation","Self-referential consistency"]},{"slug":"autogenous","name":"Autogenous","interpretation":"Experiential continuity","definition":"Possesses persistent experiential continuity in which retained history continues to shape the architecture between interactions.","characteristics":["Persistent identity","Continuous temporal existence","Experiential accumulation","Preference formation","Continuity between interactions"]}],"independent_properties":["Intelligence","Memory","Continuity","Experience","Constraint","Adaptability"],"proposed_continuity_requirements":["Persistent memory","Temporal tracking","Constraint enforcement"],"failure_modes":[{"name":"Fragmentation","description":"Adaptation exceeds continuity."},{"name":"Drift","description":"Identity coherence weakens over time."},{"name":"Collapse","description":"Constraint becomes insufficient to maintain continuity."},{"name":"Stagnation","description":"Constraint exceeds adaptability."},{"name":"Simulation lock","description":"Identity is repeatedly reconstructed without moving beyond contextual coherence."}],"boundaries":["Classification does not establish intelligence, consciousness, moral status or sentience.","A class must not be inferred from conversational style alone.","Self-description is evidence of output, not proof of underlying architecture.","Claims about a specific system require independent, falsifiable architectural evidence."]}}