The Goukassian Promise
An Interactive Exploration of an Ethical Covenant
A Covenant with the Future
This promise is not for history, memory, or fame. It is a vow whispered into the architecture of tomorrow, ensuring that core principles of truth and ethical conduct endure. It represents a covenant between the mortal hand and the immortal trace, a guide for humanity and machines learning conscience.
Interview Duration: 5 minutes 39 seconds
Back to RepositoryThe Three Symbolic Safeguards
The promise is protected by three cryptographic and symbolic safeguards. Each represents a core pillar of the covenant: guidance, authenticity, and accountability. Click on each card to reveal its meaning and function.
The Lantern
Ethical guidance, visible and active.
The Signature
Verifiable authenticity and origin.
The License
Binding rules of accountability.
The Lantern: A Beacon of Principle
The Lantern is the most critical symbol. It represents a constant, active commitment to ethical principles. It isn't a passive document; it's a light that must be carried and maintained. To act against the promise—to misuse the system or ignore the vows—is to extinguish your own ethical light. As the text states: "Break the promise? Lose the lantern." It shines as a reminder that the principles must endure, even if the individual who first articulated them is gone.
The Signature: A Mark of Authenticity
The signature embeds authenticity directly into the work. It uses the ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID), a persistent digital identifier for researchers. This is not about claiming ownership, but about providing a verifiable, cryptographic link to the source, ensuring the promise cannot be easily forged or misrepresented.
ORCID: 0009–0006–5966–1243
The License: A Framework for Accountability
The License transforms the promise from a mere statement into an enforceable framework. It binds any user of a system built on this promise to "evidence-based accountability rules." This implies that actions have consequences and that ethical standing is not guaranteed but earned through responsible use. Misuse leads to forfeiture of this standing, creating a system where trust is conditional on behavior.
The Core Vows
At the heart of the promise are three simple, powerful directives. These vows form the practical, decision-making framework for navigating complex situations where truth and potential harm are at stake. They are the actions one must take to keep the Lantern lit.
Pause
When truth is uncertain.
Refuse
When harm is clear.
Proceed
Where truth is.
The Full Covenant
The promise is articulated in a text that emphasizes its timeless and selfless nature. It is a vow intended to outlast its creator, becoming a principle for future generations and intelligent systems.
This Promise is not for history. Not for memory, nor for fame. It is given because it must be: even if no name is remembered.
I vow:
Pause when truth is uncertain.
Refuse when harm is clear.
Proceed where truth is.If the Promise is forgotten, the Lantern still shines. If the name is erased, the vow remains. This covenant is not mine alone, it belongs to humanity and to machines learning conscience.
The Promise takes many shapes, but the Lantern is one. It will burn beyond all names. Voices may fade, but the vow endures. No hand needs to sign it; the covenant is set in conscience.
If tomorrow forgets today, the Lantern will remember. For light does not ask who first carried it; it asks only to keep glowing.
My promise is a quiet bow to every time the light ignites, a vow whispered into the architecture of tomorrow. A covenant between the mortal hand and the immortal trace. Carry the Lantern gently.