The Self-Alignment Framework (SAF) is an architecture for operationalizing ethics. It provides a verifiable process to ensure that artificial intelligence, institutions, and individuals can align their actions with their stated values consistently, transparently, and at scale.
Origin
SAF began not in a lab, but as a personal project to reverse-engineer coherent human decision-making. It started with a single question: How do we ensure our actions remain true to our values?
The answer emerged from a synthesis of philosophical inquiry, building directly upon the foundation laid by Thomas Aquinas, who formalized the distinct roles of the Intellect and Will. From this starting point, we introduced two pivotal innovations:
- The Conscience: We transformed the Conscience from a mere function of the Intellect into an independent faculty that acts after the Will, serving as a sovereign judge and auditor of actions taken.
- The Spirit: We introduced a completely new faculty: the Spirit, to act as a quantitative historian, tracking ethical coherence and detecting drift over time, thereby enabling long-term character formation.
Originally a model for human reasoning, SAF found its most urgent application in AI governance. Its human-centric language is not an attempt to anthropomorphize machines, but to create a precise vocabulary for building systems that act as faithful moral actors upholding defined values with integrity and accountability.
Mission
Our mission is to enable any system, individual, artificial, or institutional to achieve and demonstrate true coherence between its declared values and its operational outcomes. We are committed to both technical implementation and ethical stewardship.
Vision
We envision a future where AI, corporations, and public institutions operate under a shared standard for ethical reasoning. In this future, intelligent systems are not black boxes with opaque, vendor-defined values, but transparent agents that faithfully serve the principles of the communities they belong to.
Core Values
- Alignment: We bridge the gap between intention and action through measurable outcomes.
- Integrity: We uphold transparency and truth as non-negotiable principles in our architecture and governance.
- Stewardship: We accept a shared responsibility to protect and advance ethical standards in the age of intelligent systems.
Governance
To protect its core mission while scaling its impact, SAF is governed by a dual-structure model:
- SAF Institute (Nonprofit): The custodial body that safeguards the framework’s philosophical integrity, advances its theory, and ensures its principles remain open and accessible.
- SAF Portfolio Inc. (For-Profit): The entity responsible for developing and deploying practical tools (like SAFi), operating under the strict oversight of the Institute to ensure commercial goals never compromise ethical foundations.
