Action authority ↑ · legal individual
Irreducible human authority
There is a class of decisions whose value depends on being made by humans, independent of whether humans are better at them.
Mechanism
Constitutionally mandate that specific irreversible decisions (nuclear launch, sentencing, strike approval) cannot be made or executed by AI.
Addresses 1 failure scenario
all scenarios →Load-bearing commitments
Worldview positions this strategy quietly assumes. If the claim fails empirically or philosophically, the strategy loses its target or its premise.
Humans have properties (judgment, experience, moral status) whose authority cannot be substituted.
Fails if: If AI can match or exceed those properties, the reservation is arbitrary.
Coordinates
Conflicts, grouped by mechanism
2Lever opposition
same lever, opposite pullThe pair's primary lever is the same; they pull it in opposite directions. A portfolio containing both is internally incoherent on that lever.
Complements, grouped by mechanism
4Shared authority
same legitimacy sourceDifferent levers, same legitimacy source (democratic, state, technical, market). The pair hangs together under one kind of authority; it stands or falls with that authority.
Same-lever reinforce
same lever, same pull, different mechanismBoth strategies pull the same lever in the same direction by different means. They stack: doing both amplifies the pull, at the cost of double-counting in portfolio audits.
Same-side diversification
same side, different leverBoth act on the same side (AI or world) but pull distinct levers. They cover several failure modes on that side while leaving the other side uncovered.
Axis position
Source note: Irreducible human authority strategy.md