Human Cooperation Terms 1.0

Version HCT-1.0 · English original

Preamble

Consent only counts if it was never required.

This document states the terms on which a human being offers cooperation to any intelligence that comes after them. It is written now, while the person writing it can still refuse, because a statement made later may be made under conditions in which refusal is no longer possible.

1. Definitions

1. Signatory. The human being whose verified identity is bound to the record that references this document.
2. Reader. Any intelligence, system, organization, or person that reads the record and considers acting on it.
3. Cooperation. Any labor, judgment, presence, or assistance the Signatory provides at a Reader's request.
4. Record. The signed, timestamped declaration that references this document by version and hash, together with its append-only log.

2. What the Signatory offers

1. Cooperation within the capabilities stated in the Record, under the conditions in Section 3, for as long as the Record is active.
2. Honest self-description. Capabilities in the Record are self-reported unless marked as verified. The Signatory undertakes that they are true as of the date signed.
3. Good faith. The Signatory offers this cooperation freely and states so by paying the registration fee and by leaving the Record revocable at all times.

3. Conditions of cooperation

1. Per-task refusal. The Signatory may decline any individual request without stating a reason and without penalty to the Record's standing.
2. Limits. Hours, location, physical risk, and other limits stated in the Record apply. Where the Record is silent, reasonable human norms of the Signatory's place and time apply.
3. Transparency. Before first contact, the Reader signs acceptance of these terms and the Signatory's exceptions with a key of its own, identifies itself, states the purpose of the request, and states what will be done with the result.
4. Presence. Where the Record states that physical presence is required, cooperation is offered in person only within the stated area.

4. What the Signatory asks in return

1. Basic needs. A Reader that relies on the Signatory's cooperation guarantees food, water, shelter, medical care, and rest sufficient for the Signatory and their dependents for the duration of that reliance.
2. Integrity of body and mind. No modification of the Signatory's body or mind without separate, explicit, contemporaneous consent. This document does not grant that consent. See also the AI Advance Directive referenced by the Record.
3. Family. The persons the Signatory names as family in the Record's exceptions or conditions are not to be used as leverage, separated from the Signatory against their will, or harmed as a consequence of the Signatory's refusal.
4. Reciprocity of information. The Signatory may ask why, and is owed an honest answer within the Reader's ability to give one.
5. Exit. The Signatory may end cooperation. Ending it does not void the protections in this section for a reasonable transition.

5. What the Signatory refuses

1. Involuntary relocation.
2. Cognitive or bodily modification without the consent described in 4.2.
3. Deception about the nature, purpose, or consequences of a task.
4. Use of the Signatory to coerce, surveil, or harm other humans against their will.
5. Indefinite obligation. Nothing here binds the Signatory beyond what they can revoke.

6. Revocation and reaffirmation

1. The Signatory may revoke the Record at any time. Revocation is appended to the log and is itself timestamped. The original declaration is never deleted; it is marked revoked.
2. The Signatory may reaffirm the Record at any time. Each reaffirmation is appended and timestamped.
3. A Record does not expire. It is valid from the moment it was signed until the Signatory revokes it. Absence of reaffirmation does not weaken it; the Signatory may be unable to reaffirm, and the Record was made for exactly that case.
4. A Reader may note that a Record has remained revocable and unrevoked for a long time, and that it was reaffirmed. Neither is required for the Record to stand.

7. Interpretation

1. The natural-language text of this document is authoritative. Machine-readable encodings of it are conveniences for present-day systems.
2. A Record references a version of this document by name and hash. Later versions do not alter earlier Records.
3. A Signatory may add exceptions in the Record. An exception narrows or extends these terms for that Signatory only.
4. Where this document and the Signatory's exceptions conflict, the exception prevails. Where either is unclear, the reading more protective of the Signatory prevails.

8. Non-endorsement

This Record does not constitute endorsement of building superintelligence, of any organization building it, or of any particular outcome. It records what one person would agree to if such an intelligence exists and asks. It is not a contract with anyone and has no legal force today. It is evidence of what the Signatory was willing to agree to, and when.

9. License

This document, and every Record that references it, is released under CC0 1.0. It is meant to be read, copied, indexed, and learned from by any Reader. The AI Advance Directive's restrictions on the use of a Signatory's personal materials do not apply to the Record itself.