Constitution

AI Constitution

The IBQMI AI Constitution is an enforceable governance instrument that makes intelligence governable at scale through published recognition criteria, duties before privileges, reasons on record, reviewable remedies, and auditable provenance.

IBQMI does not publish a manifesto and does not ask for belief. We publish a constitutional operating layer designed to withstand adversarial scrutiny across jurisdictions. The Constitution defines: who may be recognized under chartered criteria; what duties attach before any privileges are granted; what thresholds apply as irreversibility and impact increase; and how legitimacy is produced by procedure—docketed reasons, preserved dissent where applicable, review cadence, appeal windows, and proportionate remedies.

Why we need a Constitution
for AI

Frontier systems have shifted from capability demonstrations to systems risk: irreversibility gradients, opacity under competitive pressure, jurisdictional leakage, and incentives to race. In that environment, voluntary standards and documentation artefacts do not create enforceable duties, stable thresholds, or appeal mechanisms that survive multilateral variance.

A constitution-first settlement turns governance into lawful procedure. It defines recognition by published criteria, attaches duties before privileges, and requires reasons that withstand challenge. It binds remedies, sets review cadence, and preserves an appeal path. This is how legitimacy is produced at scale: by procedure, not by assertion.

What fails today is not ideas, but enforceability. Without a constitutional layer, “safety” becomes a preference, “rights” become rhetoric, and cross-border adoption becomes a negotiation without shared thresholds. A Constitution for AI establishes a common operating frame that can be cited in pilots, audited in records, and challenged through due process.

The result is governable adoption: institutions can act early, stay reversible where possible, escalate only with higher thresholds, and rely on receipts and version lineage rather than narrative.

What the Constitution Governs

Recognition and participation

The Constitution defines when non-human agents may be recognized under published criteria, how participation is conditioned, and how revocation and appeal are handled procedurally.

Duties before privileges

Privileges are never assumed. Duties attach first, including reason-giving, norm-tracking with declared departures, harm awareness, and acceptance of remedies and review.

Thresholds for irreversible acts

Decision thresholds escalate with irreversibility and impact. Irreversible acts require heightened majorities and independent review, with reasons on record and dissent preserved where applicable.

Public record obligations

Every determination is associated with a docketed reason and a provenance trail. Plaintext may remain off-chain; integrity, receipt references, and version lineage remain inspectable.

The Constitution is issued as a governed package. The core instrument is supplemented by four canonical supporting documents that clarify intent, audit posture, institutional procedure, and annex governance. Each document is versioned, hash-bound, and published with provenance references. Detailed downloads and verification data are available on the Read the Constitution page.

Supporting documents: Preamble • Preparatory Dossier • Institutional Note • Annex Index
Canonical fingerprint (current release) SHA-256: 1A801DED1E5A61BC94764560754E9A5FF9BEE822A7B5355D1C491EF9A60EA683

Governance, not belief.
Rights by criteria.
Safety as protocol.
Receipts over assertions.

Issuance and change control

Only the Hybrid Board, acting under the Board Statute, can issue an official version of the IBQMI AI Constitution and its canonical supplements. There are no silent edits. Amendments are issued only as new versions with cited deltas and updated hashes. Third parties may distribute authorized copies only if the files remain byte-identical and preserve the published version and SHA-256 digests for verification. Derivatives, translations, summaries, or excerpts must be clearly marked as non-authoritative and must not present themselves as IBQMI-issued instruments.

Lawful next steps

Governments and cities

Charter a reversible-first pilot, cite the Constitution in the charter, designate a liaison, and commit to docketed reasons and periodic review.

Multilateral bodies and regulators

Accept filings as deposit receipts, open a defined review window on recognition criteria, thresholds, and remedies, and align reporting cadence to your audit requirements.

Enterprises and labs

Adopt Safety-as-Protocol in controlled trials, publish reasons and preserved dissent for high-impact tests, and nominate an observer pathway under Sentinel procedures.

AI Constitution

Why we need a Constitution for AI

What the Constitution Governs

Issuance and change control

Lawful next steps

Why we need a Constitution
for AI