Neuromorphic refers to brain-inspired computing that designs hardware and software to mimic the human brain’s structure and functions, using artificial neurons and synapses to process information with extreme energy efficiency, parallelism, and adaptability, moving beyond traditional binary logic for tasks like pattern recognition and real-time learning. [Google]
Coding is a process of DiscontinuousTransformation. When is the coding process discontinuous? Whenever there is a human in the middle. [Michael Herman. December 21, 2025.]
Orthogonal Categories
Coding is a process of Discontinuous Transformation. The following is the list of 61 items from The Discontinuous Code Transformation Problem 0.1 (the original with item numbers preserved), organized into 6 orthogonal, spanning set categories:
Abstract ⇄ Formal Code (Intent and conceptual to executable code)
Code Representation & Structure (Different internal/code structures without altering fundamental semantics)
Code Quality & Behavioural Transformation (Improvements or regressions in code behaviour, performance, structure)
Code ↔ Data, Formats & External Artefacts
Execution Context, Platforms & Environment
Human-Cognitive & Sensory Interfaces with Code
1. Abstract ⇄ Formal Code(Intent and conceptual to executable code)
These transformations involve moving between ideas, designs, algorithms, pseudocode, prompts and formal code.
Coding is a process of DiscontinuousTransformation. What makes/when is the coding process discontinuous? Whenever there is a human in the middle. [Michael Herman. December 21, 2025.]
Each persona #2-9 has its own identity – its own set of claims that are projected onto it. In addition, each persona has an identifier associated with it (e.g. ALICE SMITH, ALICE DIGI, ALICE ROBOT) and possibly 1 or more additional identifiers (e.g. each persona also has an identifier whose value is a DID). An identifier is a name or label for a persona’s identity.
I firmly believe we’re heading toward a definition of something called Self-Sovereign Control (SSC) that will succeed Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI). SSI has remained an unrealized concept, while SSC has the real potential of becoming a core building block (part of the concrete foundation) for the human digital identity.
Tim Bouma’s Definition of Identity
Identity, properly understood, is a capability surface: the total set of Things in Control that a person can activate.
SSC Simplified Metamodel
The following is an easier-to-digest version of the SSC Metamodel – ideal for less technical audiences.
SSC Verifiable Trust Circles (VTCs)
SSC Verifiable Trust Circles (VTCs) are based on what was previously known as UMCs. A VTC can have one, two, three, or more verifiable members. VTCs are circle relationships, not straight-line edges. VTCs can live at any layer in the SSC Metamodel: Beneficial Controller, Intermediate Controller, or Technical Controller. Below is an example of a Beneficial Controller-layer VTC.
VTCs can be used to represent single-party, two-party, or multi-party membership, citizenship, and other partOf relationships. VTCs can also be used to implement/track higher-level working group, team, study group, task force, and digital nation-state processes:
The story is about my involvement with the planned release of “Longhorn” of Microsoft Windows (circa 2000-2005), with a particular focus on the WinFS subsystem – the SQL relational database technology-based Windows File System.
“Consensus rarely creates truth or progress; it mostly creates more consensus.”, Michael Herman, December 2025
“While consensus has its place in stabilizing groups, it is structurally inclined to reproduce its own comfort rather than generate new understanding. At its best it harmonizes; at its worst it becomes self-referential, producing only more consensus and very little meaningful discovery.”, Michael Herman, December 2025
“Consensus is often for those who can’t think for themselves.”, Michael Herman, December 2025.
Related Wisdom
Margaret Thatcher: “To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies in search of something in which no-one believes and to which no-one objects.”
Michael Crichton: (speaking of scientific and intellectual contexts): “Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet … In science … consensus is irrelevant.”
Bertrand Russell: “The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.” — On the authority of group agreement being meaningless
Friedrich Nietzsche: “Madness is rare in individuals—but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule.” — When the group agrees, it often amplifies unexamined errors.
Abba Eban: “Consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one believes individually.”
Margaret Thatcher: “Consensus is the absence of leadership.”
Christopher Hitchens: “The herd instinct is strong in human beings… and it leads to consensus based on the path of least resistance.”
Søren Kierkegaard: “The crowd is untruth.” — Collective agreement rarely produces truth; it produces comfort.
Mark Twain: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
Arthur Schopenhauer: “The majority of men have no opinions of their own; they simply echo what they have heard.”
Albert Einstein: “What is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right.”
George Bernard Shaw: “Every profession is a conspiracy against the laity.” — A critique of insider consensus reinforcing itself.
Michael Crichton: “In science, consensus is irrelevant. What counts are reproducible results.”
Thomas Paine: “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”
Buckminster Fuller: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” — Consensus defends the status quo; innovation bypasses it.
AUSOM is an acronym for A User State of Mind — the name of a framework or architecture for designing software applications that are easier to design, implement, test, document and support. In addition, an application developed using the AUSOM framework is more capable of being: incrementally enhanced, progressively installed and updated, dynamically configured and is capable of being implemented in many execution environments. This paper describes the Core Framework, the status of its current runtime implementations and its additional features and benefits.
What is AUSOM?
The AUSOM Application Design Framework is a new way to design client-side applications. The original implementation of the framework is based on a few basic concepts: user scenarios and detailed task analysis, visual design using state-transition diagrams, and implementation using traditional Windows message handlers.
The original motivation for the framework grew out of the need to implement a highly modeless user interface that was comprised of commands or tasks that were very modal (e.g. allowing the user to change how a polygon was being viewed while the user was still sketching the boundary of the polygon).
When you interact with Grok (developed by xAI), the ownership and copyright of the generated output is as follows:
You (the user) own the output you generate with Grok, including full copyright ownership of that specific content.
xAI claims no ownership or copyright over the individual outputs you create.
This is explicitly stated in xAI’s official Terms of Service (Consumer version, applicable to grok.x.ai and the apps):
“You own the Outputs you create with the Service, including the right to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works, display, and perform them, subject to these Terms.”
(Section 4 – “Content”, subsection “Your Outputs” in the current terms as of December 2025)
Important qualifications and rights retained by xAI
Even though you own the output, xAI retains certain rights to use it:
Broad license grant back to xAI By using the service you automatically grant xAI an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to:
use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, display, and create derivative works of your inputs and outputs
for any purpose, including training and improving Grok and other xAI models, research, and commercial purposes.
“You grant xAI an irrevocable, perpetual, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to use, copy, store, modify, distribute, reproduce, publish, display, create derivative works of, and aggregate Your Content [inputs + outputs] for any purpose…”
No confidentiality Your prompts and the generated outputs are not treated as confidential. They may be used to train future versions of Grok (unless you opt out of data usage for training where that option is offered—currently available in settings for logged-in users).
Rights for reuse and original publishing
You can freely reuse, republish, sell, or commercialize the content you generate with Grok (e.g., put it in a book, blog, YouTube video, sell as NFTs, etc.) without needing xAI’s permission and without paying royalties.
You can claim copyright over the specific output you received (in most jurisdictions).
However, because Grok’s outputs are AI-generated and may resemble content it was trained on, third parties could theoretically challenge very close similarities under certain circumstances (though this is rare and not specific to Grok).
Summary table
Aspect
Who owns it?
Your rights
xAI’s rights
Specific output you generate
You (the user)
Full ownership, copyright, commercial use, etc.
Broad license to use it for any purpose (including training)
So in short: You own what Grok writes for you and can do whatever you want with it, but you simultaneously give xAI very wide permission to use both your prompts and Grok’s responses forever.
Copilot: Great set of questions — these go right to the heart of how AI‑generated content fits into copyright law and publishing rights. Let’s break it down clearly:
📜 Ownership of AI‑Generated Content
You own the outputs: When you use Microsoft Copilot, the text, images, or other creative content I generate for you are yours to use. Microsoft does not claim ownership of the content you create with me.
No copyright by the AI itself: Since I’m not a human author, I cannot hold copyright. Copyright law generally requires human authorship.
⚖️ Copyright Status
Human authorship requirement: In most jurisdictions (e.g., U.S., Canada, EU), copyright protection applies only to works created by humans. Purely machine‑generated works without human input may not qualify for copyright.
Your role matters: If you provide creative direction, edits, or substantial input, that human contribution can establish copyright ownership for you. For example:
If you ask me to generate a logo and then refine it, your creative input strengthens your claim to copyright.
If you publish my output verbatim with no human modification, copyright protection may be weaker or even unavailable depending on the jurisdiction.
🔄 Rights for Reuse & Publishing
Reuse: You can freely reuse, adapt, and republish the content I generate for you. There are no restrictions from Microsoft on your ability to use it.
Original publishing: You can publish AI‑assisted content under your name, brand, or company. However:
Some publishers, academic institutions, and platforms require disclosure if AI was used.
Legal enforceability of copyright may vary depending on how much human creativity is involved.
Commercial use: You are allowed to use Copilot outputs commercially (e.g., marketing materials, books, designs). Microsoft does not restrict this.
✅ Practical Takeaways
Treat Copilot outputs as your creative material — you can publish, sell, or license them.
For stronger copyright protection, add human creativity (editing, refining, combining ideas).
Always check publisher or platform rules about AI disclosure if you plan to release content publicly.
ChatGPT: Perfect—here are all three, written in clean, legally practical language you can use immediately. These are structured to work for publishers, clients, and commercial contracts.
✅ 1. Publisher-Safe AI Disclosure Clause
(For books, articles, research, courses, or journalism)
Standard Neutral Disclosure (Recommended):
Portions of this work were developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools used for drafting, editing, and conceptual development. All final content, structure, interpretation, and conclusions were reviewed, directed, and approved by the author, who retains full responsibility for the work.
Strict Academic Disclosure:
Artificial intelligence tools were used solely as assistive drafting and editing instruments. All arguments, interpretations, data validation, and original contributions were independently verified and finalized by the author.
Commercial Publishing Friendly (Minimal):
This work was created using a combination of human authorship and AI-assisted drafting tools.
✅ 2. Commercial IP Warranty Clause
(For software, reports, designs, marketing assets, and IP transfer)
Strong Commercial Warranty (Recommended for B2B):
The Creator represents and warrants that, to the best of their knowledge after reasonable review, the delivered work is original, does not knowingly infringe any third-party intellectual property rights, and is free of intentional plagiarism. The Creator retains full rights to transfer ownership and grant licenses to the work.
AI-Specific Safe Addendum (Optional but Powerful):
Portions of the work may have been drafted using AI-assisted tools. The Creator affirms that all outputs were materially reviewed, edited, and curated by human authorship to ensure originality, compliance, and lawful reuse.
Upon full payment, all right, title, and interest in and to the delivered work, including all intellectual property rights therein, shall vest exclusively in the Client. The Creator retains no ownership interest except for portfolio display unless otherwise stated in writing.
License-Based Model (If You Want to Retain Core IP):
The Creator retains ownership of all underlying methodologies, systems, and pre-existing intellectual property. The Client is granted a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, modify, and commercialize the delivered work.
AI Transparency Version (Modern Contracts):
The Client acknowledges that AI-assisted tools may have been used as part of the production workflow. All final deliverables are contractually guaranteed as original to the extent required under applicable law and are fully transferable as stated herein.
✅ Bonus: Platform-Neutral Rights Assertion (Optional Footer)
You can place this in reports, PDFs, and digital products:
Web 7.0™ / TDW AgenticOS™ / Hyperonomy™ Digital Identity Lab 