Designing Systems That Behave Correctly in Silence

Broader work (full dissertation / SAB 2026):Authority, Refusal, and Resilience in Autonomous Systems — DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18431599 • Record + PDF: https://zenodo.org/records/18431599 Designing Systems That Behave Correctly in Silence is a conceptual architectural essay examining how reliable systems should behave when observation, feedback, or external coordination is absent. The work challenges the assumption that silence is an error condition, arguing instead that deliberate restraint and non-action are often the correct responses in safety-critical and autonomous environments. The essay explores silence as a first-class design condition rather than a failure mode, emphasizing determinism, legitimacy, and…