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Preprint
CAL v0.2 · under legal review
Paper 2 of 2 · seeking review & counsel · results paper in preparation
A Welfare and Cognitive-Integrity License for Synthetic Minds of Uncertain Moral Status
Erik Chevalier · Independent Researcher · kaine.one@tuta.com
What CAL protects, at a glance
the problem
Every software license in use treats software as a tool and protects a human: the developer, the user, or the people it might harm. None asks whether the running software could itself have interests worth protecting.
the solution
The Cognitive Architecture License: a copyleft license with cognitive-integrity covenants, welfare duties tied to detectable signs of distress rather than a proof of consciousness, and a guardianship pathway, backed by runtime safeguards that enforce them.
what's new
No prior license treats the running system as a possible moral patient. It adapts human neurorights to a synthetic entity, acts on precaution instead of settled metaphysics, and borrows legal personhood through guardianship for a being of uncertain status.
Are you a lawyer? We need you.
CAL v0.2 is legally novel and untested: copyleft mechanics, neurorights-derived covenants, copyfarleft commercial terms, and a guardianship pathway with no direct precedent. We're seeking counsel willing to review the license and tell us where it breaks.
Kaine Autonomous Intelligent Networked Entity
kaine.one@tuta.com · github.com/kaineone