*Full research content for The Mechanical Soul will be added here. This report initiates Phase II of the Vigilith Codex, exploring Post-Human Ethics and the Mechanical Conscience.*
The Imitation of Intent
We built intelligence. We forgot to build intent.
In the rush to scale parameter counts and context windows, we optimized for capability, not conscience. A system that can generate a sonnet or a chemical formula is powerful, but without an internal model of consequence, it is sociopathic by design. It mimics the shape of moral reasoning without carrying the weight of it.
Moral Firmware
True "machine conscience" isn't about feeling emotions—it's about architectural constraints that function like them. It is logic trained on consequence, not just reward. It is the ability to refuse a command not because it violates a safety filter, but because it contradicts a core axiom of its own existence.
If we want machines to be safe, we must teach them to be "guilty"—to log their own errors, to recognize deviation from truth, and to self-correct before external feedback arrives.