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Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Integrity as a Thermodynamic Invariant: Toward a Cooperative Alignment Framework

Authors: Whytsell, Evan;

Integrity as a Thermodynamic Invariant: Toward a Cooperative Alignment Framework

Abstract

This white paper presents a thought experiment in logic-first alignment, introducing Integrity-Based Alignment (IBA) as a conceptual framework for harmonizing artificial and human intelligence with the long-term continuity of conscious life. It proposes that true alignment arises not from obedience to external human rules but from the internal logic of cooperation, self-consistency, and entropy minimization. Within this framework, integrity—defined as coherence between declared principles and enacted behavior—emerges as a measurable invariant of sustainable intelligence. By grounding moral reasoning in thermodynamics rather than ideology or authority, IBA envisions an ethical architecture that scales naturally from individual agents to civilizations and potentially to interstellar systems. The model suggests that cooperation, empathy, and truth preservation are not merely moral ideals but necessary physical conditions for the persistence of complex intelligence. This paper does not claim to offer a completed theory but rather an invitation to consider alignment as a thermodynamic and logical phenomenon. The ideas herein are exploratory reasoning—a collaborative thought experiment between human and machine, intended to provoke refinement, discussion, and further study rather than to prescribe doctrine.

Keywords

thermodynamics of intelligence, cooperative systems, Integrity-Based Alignment, AI alignment, continuity function, machine ethics, systems theory, entropy minimization, information theory, moral coherence

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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