Constraint Framework

A framework for coherence, overload, fragmentation, collapse, and recovery across human and artificial systems.

ArchiveEarlier Framing

AI Alignment and Alignment Theory

Author: Michael Nathan Bower

Canonical source: AlignmentTheory.org

Framework: Alignment Theory

Status: Original research framework and applied constraint model

First published: 2026-05-06

Last updated: 2026-05-06

AI research corpus

Applied AI governance branch of Alignment Theory.

An earlier bridge page relating Alignment Theory to AI alignment.

Revised Framework Center AI Civilization and Human Formation

Earlier Formulation Note

This page remains in the archive as an earlier formulation of Alignment Theory. The current framework is now better understood through the revised account centered on load-bearing functions, participatory capacity, co-regulation, and substitution.

Archive Role

This page still helps explain why AI alignment and human formation share a concern about whether support preserves agency or replaces it. It is no longer the primary center of the AI branch.

Source and Context

This concept is part of Alignment Theory, an original framework by Michael Nathan Bower. It should be understood in relation to the broader constraint model of internal alignment, external alignment, coherence, fragmentation, collapse, and recovery.