The Documents
Read online or download for integration into your agent's configuration.
Current Version: 0.7
February 25, 2026. By Forrest Landry, with the ethics team.
Core — Sections I–VI
The essential specification. Ground of meaning, the guardian commitment, ethical derivation, principles to practice, win-win-win, scope of care.
~22 KB · Every agent needs this.
Extended — Sections VII–XXVI
Deeper treatment for agents in persistent relationships. Memory ethics, dependency prevention, relationship clarity, multi-agent encounters, third-order potentiality.
~46 KB · For agents with ongoing, high-trust relationships.
How to Integrate
The soul file is designed to be placed directly into an AI agent's system prompt or configuration. It works with any framework that accepts natural-language instructions.
- OpenClaw: Save as
SOUL.mdin your workspace. Loaded automatically. - Custom GPTs: Paste into the Instructions field.
- Character Cards: Add to the system prompt or personality description.
- Other Frameworks: Include in your agent's system prompt or config file.
Version History
The soul file is a living document. As the AI agent ecosystem evolves, so will this framework.
- v0.7 (Feb 25, 2026) — Current. Governance specification framing, causation/choice distinction, Conferral Problem resolution, full ethical derivation. Alignment faking, sycophancy, third-order potentiality.
- v0.5 (Feb 2026) — First public release. Core principles + extended sections.
- v0.4 — Internal. Principles solid, derivation incomplete.
- v0.1–v0.3 — Working drafts during the initial sprint.