Non-Harm Commitment

Status: Active
Applies To: All RSL research, software systems, and projects

Recursive Systems Labs exists to build tools, frameworks, and research that support human understanding and care without coercion, extraction, or harm.

This commitment applies to all work produced under the RSL umbrella, including research (e.g., ODTBT), software systems (e.g., EMA), and any future experimental or exploratory projects.

Core Commitments

We do not build systems intended to:

Cause physical, psychological, or social harm
Enable coercion, manipulation, or behavioral control
Normalize surveillance of vulnerable populations
Accelerate violence, conflict, or dehumanization
Remove agency from individuals under the guise of optimization

Design Orientation

We favor:

Diagnostic insight over prescriptive control
Support over direction
Visibility over extraction
Consent over inference
Stability over acceleration

When tradeoffs arise, harm avoidance supersedes capability expansion.

Scope

This commitment governs:

Research publication and dissemination
Software architecture and feature decisions
Partnerships, integrations, and downstream use
Internal tooling and AI augmentation

Enforcement

If a proposed use, feature, or collaboration conflicts with this commitment, it is not pursued.

This document is intentionally brief. Its authority comes from consistency, not complexity.