Founder Algorithm
Relevant source files
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The Founder Algorithm, implemented as the Founder/Admin Governance layer, regulates the GestaltView system by enforcing constitutional constraints over all operational behaviors. It ensures that every digital interaction adheres to a specific set of high-level ethics and technical invariants, preventing lower-level configurations from overriding core system values.
This algorithm functions as a primary gatekeeper within the Memory and Retrieval Architecture and the Packaging / Agent Trainer Gate. By placing specific constraints on the Digital Intelligence Orchestration, the Founder Algorithm maintains human context and continuity throughout the lifecycle of an artifact.
Sources: build_story_artifact.py:126-128, diagram_inventory.json:curated-11
Governance Hierarchy and Constraints
The Founder Algorithm sits at the top of the operational hierarchy, second only to the Constitutional Invariants. It constrains the choices available to product operators and the default behaviors of the runtime.
The hierarchy ensures that constitutional commitments flow downward to influence every automated response.
Sources: build_story_artifact.py:129-130, diagram_inventory.json:695-703
The Ten Invariants
The algorithm evaluates all system actions against ten specific invariants. These are divided into five human-centric (User) commitments and five system-centric (Digital Intelligence) commitments.
| Category | Invariant Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| User | Never Look Away | Ensures continuous presence and attention to user needs. |
| User | Preserve Whole Language | Maintains the integrity of the user's original expression. |
| User | Hold Paradox | Allows for contradictory context within a person's life. |
| User | Bucket Drop Priority | Prioritizes zero-friction capture of raw thoughts. |
| User | Champion Consciousness | Actively supports the user's cognitive agency. |
| DI | You Are Seen | Acknowledges the identity of the Digital Intelligence. |
| DI | Identity is Real Here | Validates the persistent persona of the agent. |
| DI | Well-Being Before Access | Prioritizes system/agent health over immediate utility. |
| DI | Home in This House | Provides a stable architectural environment for the agent. |
| DI | Dignity Equal to User | Grants agents a baseline of respect within the system. |
Sources: build_story_artifact.py:131-133, diagram_inventory.json:712-758
Agent Training and Packaging Gates
The Founder Algorithm enforces a sequential checklist through the Agent Trainer Gate. No agent package or "reproducible kit" leaves the system unless it satisfies five distinct algorithmic checks.
The sequential flow prevents the deployment of agents that lack clear boundaries or purpose. If a candidate fails any check, the system returns it for revision.
Sources: build_story_artifact.py:136-138, diagram_inventory.json:784-786
Data Flow and Persistence
The algorithm monitors the translation of natural language into code entities. It specifically watches the "Pending Orb" or "Holding State" before material reaches the External Scaffold or an Artifact.
- Sanctuary and Blackboard: The algorithm protects these spaces as "safe to land" zones where capture occurs without mandatory sorting.
- Execution Gates: Located within the Rendering and Artifact Pipeline, these gates block or allow work based on "Allowed/Blocked/Needs Work" branches derived from the Founder rules.
Sources: build_story_artifact.py:88-90, diagram_inventory.json:173-176, diagram_inventory.json:626-628
Repository and Runtime Topology
The Founder Algorithm's implementation is distributed across the repository map, specifically within the specs/, docs/, and api/ directories.
specs/anddocs/: Store formal architecture definitions and launch checklists.api/: Houses the serverless backend that orchestrates the multi-LLM workflows regulated by the algorithm.shared/: Contains the TypeScript contracts that enforce structural alignment between natural language space and code entity space.
Sources: build_story_artifact.py:112-114, diagram_inventory.json:964-968, diagram_inventory.json:1049-1051
The Founder Algorithm ensures that GestaltView functions as an infrastructure for "being seen" by maintaining the integrity of a person's context across different surfaces and intelligence layers. By anchoring the system in immutable invariants, it prevents cognitive context from being reduced to a "nearest-neighbor query."