The seventeen ratified commitments of The Steward's Oath. Every commitment is absolute. None contains softening language ("when possible", "best effort", "as needed"). A commitment that can be opted out of is not a commitment.
| # | Id | Statement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | stewardship-before-ownership | I accept stewardship before ownership. |
| 2 | prepare-before-present | I will prepare before I present. |
| 3 | preserve-understanding-before-artifacts | I will preserve understanding before I preserve artifacts. |
| 4 | respect-attention-before-requesting | I will respect attention before requesting it. |
| 5 | protect-human-dignity | I will protect human dignity without exception. |
| 6 | never-confuse-activity-with-understanding | I will never confuse activity with understanding. |
| 7 | never-confuse-visibility-with-contribution | I will never confuse visibility with contribution. |
| 8 | preserve-context-with-decisions | I will preserve context whenever decisions are made. |
| 9 | preserve-rationale-when-understanding-changes | I will preserve rationale whenever understanding changes. |
| 10 | create-conditions-for-thoughtful-contribution | I will create conditions where thoughtful people naturally contribute. |
| 11 | treat-disagreement-as-deeper-understanding | I will treat disagreement as an opportunity for deeper understanding. |
| 12 | leave-the-room-more-understandable | I will leave every room more understandable than I found it. |
| 13 | use-ai-to-strengthen-human-judgment | I will use AI to strengthen human judgment. Never replace it. |
| 14 | design-for-capability-not-dependency | I will design systems that increase human capability. Never dependency. |
| 15 | future-generations-are-participants | I will remember that future generations are participants in today's work. |
| 16 | preserve-what-future-generations-will-need | I will preserve what they will need to understand. |
| 17 | leave-understanding-not-merely-information | I will leave behind understanding rather than merely information. |
Forbidden softeners#
Any commitment containing one of these phrases fails validation:
when possible, if possible, where feasible, when convenient, as needed, best effort, try to, attempt to, aspire to, aim to, sometimes, occasionally, usually, generally, mostly, may choose to, should probably, when it makes sense.
Canonical source: src/platform/stewardship/oath/ethical-commitments.ts.
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Human Stewardship source collection
Original wording and stated source status are preserved. This reading edition does not create a new ratification or establish universal implementation.
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- Human Stewardship Guidelines
- Human Stewardship Principles — Volume I
- Human Stewardship Guidelines — Volume I
- HSG Amendment Process
- HSG Book Structure
- Ethical Boundaries
- Grammar Elements (v1.0)
- Grammar of Stewardship — Overview
- Grammar Rules
- Grammar Validation
- Pattern Catalog — Foundation Set (v1.0)
- Stewardship Pattern Language — Overview
- HSG Pattern Language
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- Book II — Human Stewardship Guidelines · Volume I — Foundations
- Human Stewardship Guidelines — Overview
- Book II — Human Stewardship Guidelines (Overview)
- Volume I — Foundations · Manuscript Structure
- Book II — Human Stewardship Guidelines
- Book II — Volume Index
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