RIGOR
AI Constraint Protocol.
Formal boundaries for AI-generated systems.
Generation requires boundaries.
Access Specification →Structural Acceleration
AI-native systems increase implementation velocity beyond human structural oversight capacity.
Generation throughput now exceeds structural validation throughput.
When structural change outpaces structural governance, systems accumulate implicit transitions, undeclared evolution, migration ambiguity, and contract instability.
This condition produces structural entropy.
Structural Entropy
Structural Entropy is the progressive increase of implicit, unclassified, or non-deterministic structural behavior across iterative system evolution.
Structural entropy manifests when:
- Transitions are inferred instead of declared.
- Version changes are untyped.
- Migrations alter behavior without formal classification.
- Execution diverges from documented intent.
Structural entropy is cumulative. Without constraint, it becomes irreversible.
RIGOR positions itself as an entropy-reduction protocol.
AI Constraint Protocol Model
Architectural Position
RIGOR operates as a constraint layer between human intent and runtime execution.
The protocol comprises five normative components:
- Intent Domain — Defines the formally allowed structural space.
- Constraint Contract — Machine-verifiable specification instance.
- Generation Boundary — Interface between AI output and validation.
- Validation Engine — Evaluates structural compliance.
- Evolution Layer — Classifies all structural changes.
Core Invariants
The following properties are non-negotiable across all RIGOR-compliant systems:
Explicitness
All transitions must be declared. No implicit behavior is permitted.
Determinism
Given state, event, and version, the resulting transition must be singular or explicitly rejected.
Classified Evolution
All structural changes must be typed as compatible, conditional, or breaking. Silent evolution is invalid.
Validation Before Execution
Structural validation is a precondition of existence. Execution without validation violates the protocol.
Separation of Layers
RIGOR formally separates language definition, specification instance, and validation engine. No layer may implicitly assume another.
Structural Positioning
RIGOR operates upstream of execution. It does not orchestrate. It does not execute. It constrains structural possibility.
| System | What It Does | RIGOR Does |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow Orchestration (Temporal, AWS Step Functions) | Manage distributed execution. Coordinate runtime behavior. Handle retries and state persistence. | Define what processes are structurally allowed to exist before execution. |
| Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) | Define infrastructure state declaratively. | Define structural process evolution constraints. |
| Static Analysis (Type Systems, Linters) | Validate code correctness. Enforce compile-time constraints. | Classify structural evolution across versions. Govern AI-generated structural possibility space. |
| Domain-Specific Languages | Encode process definitions in syntax. | Define structural invariants independent of implementation language. |
RIGOR is upstream of orchestration. It defines the structural boundary between generation and execution.
Conceptual Territory
RIGOR owns the conceptual space of:
- Pre-Execution Structural Protocol
- AI Structural Boundedness
- Deterministic Evolution Governance
- Version-Typed Process Contracts
- Structural Entropy Reduction
This territory is not formally occupied by existing platforms.
Protocol vs Prompt Engineering
| Aspect | Prompt Engineering | AI Constraint Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Descriptive | Prescriptive |
| Method | Persuades model | Defines boundaries |
| Control | Relies on phrasing | Formalizes domain |
| Validation | Probabilistic variance | Structural containment |
| Output | Approximate intent | Bounded execution |
Prompt engineering attempts to guide probabilistic behavior. AI Constraint Protocol constrains structural possibility.
Normative Documentation
Complete protocol specification, process definitions, and implementation guidance available in formal documentation.