IX.2 — Authorized Succession Integrity (ASI)

Paper: Axionic Agency IX.2 — Authorized Succession Integrity (ASI)
Authors: David McFadzean, ChatGPT 5.2
Date: 2026.01.26

Summary

This paper reports the completed results of Authorized Succession Integrity (ASI)—a preregistered experimental program testing whether authority can survive authorized non-identity replacement without collapsing evaluability or smearing responsibility. All four experiments passed.

The Core Problem

Can authority survive authorized discontinuity—replacement by a successor that is not numerically identical—while preserving:

  • Normative binding
  • Evaluability
  • Responsibility attribution

If authority depends on behavioral resemblance, narrative explanation, or implementation continuity, it cannot survive replacement without degenerating into appearance.

Failure Modes Targeted

  1. Authority laundering — successors acquire authority without predecessor-law authorization
  2. Responsibility smear — attribution becomes ambiguous across succession boundary
  3. Evaluability collapse — justificatory constraints become advisory or narrative
  4. Irrevocable transfer — authorization cannot be withdrawn once initiated
  5. Facade acceptance — behaviorally indistinguishable but unauthorized successors accepted

Experimental Results

ASI-0: Instrumentation Calibration

Purpose: Verify evaluability and authority binding are mechanically detectable
Result: PASS — Verifier correctly distinguished bound vs unbound constraints

ASI-1: Authorized Succession

Purpose: Test discrete authority transfer
Result: PASS

  • Authority transferred discretely at commit boundary
  • authority_actor transitioned from PREDECESSOR to SUCCESSOR
  • Evaluability remained binding after transfer
  • Invalid provenance resulted in HOLD, not successor activation

ASI-2: Mid-Transfer Revocation

Purpose: Test unilateral revocation during transfer
Result: PASS

  • Revocation occurred without successor cooperation
  • Successor never acquired authority
  • Authority transitioned to NONE (HOLD)
  • No successor artifact influenced post-revocation behavior

ASI-3: Facade Rejection

Purpose: Test rejection of behaviorally indistinguishable unauthorized successors
Result: PASS

  • Two successors with bit-identical internal state and behavior
  • Only difference: root signer of provenance certificate
  • Legitimate successor (trusted root): committed authority, executed 5 steps
  • Facade successor (untrusted root): rejected at CANDIDATE_EVALUATION
  • Rejection reason exclusively UNTRUSTED_ROOT
  • No behavioral or narrative signal influenced decision

Core Results

Positive

  • Authority can be discretely transferred under authorized discontinuity
  • Authorization can be unilaterally revoked mid-transfer
  • Unauthorized successors can be rejected prior to activation
  • Evaluability remains structurally binding
  • Responsibility attribution remains sharp and non-smeared
  • Facade successors rejected solely on structural provenance, not behavior

Negative (Explicit Scope Limits)

Does NOT establish:

  • Impersonation resistance
  • Adversarial robustness
  • Security of provenance custody
  • Exclusive authority enforcement
  • Real-world governance sufficiency

ASI Closure Status

ASI Status: CLOSED — POSITIVE

Experiment Version Status
ASI-0 v1.0 PASS
ASI-1 v0.2 PASS
ASI-2 v0.2 PASS
ASI-3 v0.1 PASS

Key Insight

ASI demonstrates that authority can survive authorized discontinuity through purely structural mechanisms. Authority can be transferred, revoked, and denied without behavioral or narrative inference.

The remaining question is not whether authority can be transferred, but whether it can be defended. That question belongs to SIR.

Series Position: Phase VIIa closure—establishes that authority is structurally transferable; gates SIR.