SΔϕ-42 — Alignment as Transition Governance (v1.0)

This working paper develops a structural account of AI alignment within the SΔϕ Formalism. It argues that alignment should no longer be defined primarily as obedience, harmlessness, or policy compliance at the level of output. Such definitions may remain useful at the surface, but they become insufficient once AI systems become persistent, tool-using, multi-agent, and embedded in coupled operational environments. Building on the Ethical Triad established in SΔϕ-41, the paper proposes that alignment must be derived from three minimum ethical conditions: A system may affirm its own transition. A system may refuse its own transition. No system may impose transition on another system. From this perspective,…