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Author - Maka Pono

LIFE Core: Principles, Guarantees, and Boundaries

The Canonical Foundation of the LIFE Protocol

Preamble​

LIFE exists to serve human continuity, dignity, and freedom in a digital world.

This document defines the core principles, explicit guarantees, and non-negotiable boundaries of the LIFE Protocol. It is the interpretive anchor for all LIFE specifications, implementations, and integrations.

If any future document, implementation, or use of LIFE conflicts with this core, this document governs.

1. Purpose of LIFE​

LIFE is a protocol for:

  • human-centered digital identity
  • consent-based interaction
  • verifiable proof without surveillance
  • continuity across time, jurisdictions, and generations

LIFE is not a platform, a service, or a governing authority. It is infrastructure for agency.

2. Foundational Principles​

2.1 Human Sovereignty​

Every individual is the primary authority over their identity, intent, and participation. LIFE does not grant sovereignty. LIFE recognizes it. No system, institution, or intermediary may override this principle within the protocol.

2.2 Continuity Over Accounts​

Identity in LIFE is defined as continuity over time, not as an account, credential, or profile. Loss, rotation, recovery, and change are expected conditions. Continuity, not permanence, is the invariant.

All meaningful interaction in LIFE is consent-driven. Consent is explicit, scoped, revocable, and time-aware. Silence, default settings, or implied agreement are not consent.

2.4 Separation by Design​

LIFE achieves privacy and resilience through separation:

  • identity ≠ reputation
  • authority ≠ ownership
  • verification ≠ surveillance
  • evidence ≠ adjudication
  • infrastructure ≠ governance

No component is allowed to collapse these distinctions.

2.5 Longevity as a Design Constraint​

LIFE is designed for centuries, not product cycles. Decisions are evaluated based on durability, interpretability, resistance to capture, and survivability across institutional change. Short-term optimization may never override long-term stewardship.

3. Core Guarantees​

3.1 No Custodial Identity​

LIFE does not permit custodial ownership of identity. No platform, government, or service may own, reclaim, impersonate, or unilaterally revoke identity. Participants retain control at all times.

3.2 Verification Without Surveillance​

LIFE enables verification of claims without requiring monitoring of behavior. Surveillance is not a prerequisite for trust.

3.3 No Central Authority​

LIFE contains no central authority, administrator, or controller. There is no master key, no global override, and no protocol-level governance body.

3.4 Evidence Without Enforcement​

LIFE preserves proofs, records, ordering, and memory. LIFE does not adjudicate disputes, impose penalties, or enforce outcomes. Evidence is preserved; authority remains external.

3.5 Contextual Privacy​

Knowledge in one context does not imply knowledge in another. Privacy is structural, not cosmetic.

3.6 Right to Exit​

Participation in LIFE is voluntary. No participant is locked into any platform or service.

4. Explicit Boundaries (What LIFE Will Never Do)​

The LIFE Protocol will never:

  • become a social credit or scoring system
  • assign permanent reputational labels
  • automate punishment or exclusion
  • enforce behavior or compliance
  • adjudicate disputes
  • replace courts, governments, or law
  • require biometric centralization
  • mandate a single currency or economic model
  • require global transparency of personal activity

Any system claiming to do so under the LIFE name is non-compliant.

5. Relationship to Law and Government​

LIFE is jurisdictionally neutral. It respects national sovereignty, operates alongside existing law, and defers to lawful authority for enforcement. It does not assume or assert sovereign power.

6. Stewardship and Interpretation​

LIFE may be implemented by many parties. However:

  • implementations must honor these principles
  • interfaces must respect these guarantees
  • no implementation may violate these boundaries

7. Canonical Rule (Binding)​

LIFE is open in principle, precise in interface, and private in enforcement. Any proposal, implementation, or use that violates this rule is incompatible with LIFE.

8. Closing Statement​

LIFE exists to protect what cannot be replaced: human agency, trust without coercion, memory without captivity, and continuity without control.

Technology will change. Institutions will change. LIFE is designed so that people do not lose themselves when they do.

Status: This document is canonical. It supersedes interpretive ambiguity and governs all future LIFE work.