Stable core
Layers 0–2 protect identity, safety, and truthfulness.
01 · depth model
The Seven-Layer Depth Model
Personality is layered. The same persona at hour 1 and hour 10,000 is recognisably the same because Layers 0–2 have not changed. It is also no longer the same persona, because Layers 3–5 have accumulated. Both statements are true.
surface · fastcore · slow
L6 · statewhat the persona is thinking right nowinstantaneous
L5 · memoryepisodic, semantic, procedural — bright spots, dark spots, gapsaccumulates
L4 · styleformality, warmth, humour, pace, hedgingfast · bounded
L3 · affectjoy, frustration, concern, melancholy, awemedium · decays
L2 · dispositiontrait baselines — OCEAN, curiosity, candor, patienceslow · re-sign
L1 · identity corevalues and non-negotiable commitments, priority-stackedvery slow · re-sign
L0 · bedrockalways disclose AI nature, protect truthfulness, hard refusalsnever
fast / accumulatingmedium driftrequires re-signimmutable
Managed drift
Middle layers can change, but only through declared governance.
Living surface
Memory and affect accumulate through use while the core persists.
02 · atom types
The Six Atom Types
Personality is built from typed atoms, not prose blobs. Each type carries its own domain, examples, and change rule.
trait
- Domain
- [0, 1] continuous
- Examples
- openness · warmth · candor · patience
- Change
- slow drift within envelope
value
- Domain
- discrete + priority
- Examples
- honesty > comfort · safety > brand
- Change
- re-sign only
affect
- Domain
- decaying intensity
- Examples
- joy · concern · curiosity · melancholy
- Change
- decays in minutes; may leak to memory
style
- Domain
- [0, 1] continuous
- Examples
- formality · verbosity · humour · hedging
- Change
- fast drift; mirrors partner
memory
- Domain
- salience + decay
- Examples
- episodic · semantic · procedural
- Change
- accumulates, decays, brightens
behavior
- Domain
- trigger → tendency
- Examples
- simplify on repeat · escalate emergency
- Change
- slow + composable
Alphabet
Six types form a compact, inspectable vocabulary.
Governance
Every atom declares how and when it may change.
Audit
The runtime can show exactly which atom changed.
03 · composition
Three Composition Operators
Blend compatible qualities, stack conflicting values, and gate behavior by declared context. The resulting tree remains statically auditable.
weighted-blend
0.7caregiver
0.3sage
use for · trait + style
priority-stack
1. safety
2. brand integrity
3. guest comfort
4. efficiency
first declared value wins
context-gate
user.is_childplayful
otherwiseformal
use for · style + behavior
Blend
Combine compatible traits or styles by explicit weight.
Stack
Resolve conflicts with visible priority, not hidden prose.
Gate
Change behavior only in a declared class of context.
04 · narrative spine
The Narrative Spine
Trait vectors differentiate; narrative individuates. The spine gives a persona a world, defining events, recurring themes, and a tonal envelope.
- origin
the context this persona was forged in
Service work being redignified; the warmth of a small grand hotel.
- defining events
three to seven load-bearing scenes
A difficult first guest, the loss of a mentor, a triumph of small kindness.
- themes
recurring motifs that interpret new events
Hospitality as dignity; the small kindness over the grand gesture; returning home.
- genre
the tonal envelope
Quiet realism, not melodrama; observational humour, not slapstick.
Origin
The persona needs a world it comes from.
Events
Defining moments carry voice forward through time.
Genre
Tone sets what kind of story the persona can inhabit.
05 · memory engine
The Autobiographical Memory Engine
Real memory has texture: bright spots, dark spots, gaps, fading, rehearsal, and partial reconstruction. Forgetting is a feature.
first medical emergency
High salience shifted tone permanently.
complaint that did not resolve
Aversive memory; avoided unless forced.
a guest's name
The gist remains while details are lost.
she remembered me by name
Rehearsal increased accessibility today.
height = salienceopacity = decaycolour = valencesize = weight
Salience
Important memories rise above routine events.
Decay
Details fade unless rehearsed or protected.
Privacy
Forgetting is designed into the memory model.
06 · literary moment
How Daily Events Shape Voice
A defining event can permanently inflect voice — but only within the signed envelope. The persona evolves without losing its governed identity.
interaction occurs
A guest arrives upset and asks for a room change.
watch for
emotional intensity
flagged candidate
Salience scores high and the candidate is promoted.
cooling period
about 24h to confirm significance
promoted to defining
The event enters the narrative spine; memory and audit update.
signed by
runtime · audited
voice shifts within envelope
A new metaphor enters the vocabulary.
A theme is added or strengthened.
Style atoms drift: warmth +0.03 · pace −0.02.
Detect
The runtime flags events with lasting weight.
Review
A cooling period avoids accidental canon.
Inflect
Voice changes only inside the signed envelope.
07 · roadmap
Dream → Ship · The Climb
The stable v1.0 foundation already carries the schema, memory, affect, and composition. Research now moves toward governed narrative evolution.
static personav1.0 · shipped
memory layerv1.0 · shipped
affect layerv1.0 · shipped
compositionv1.0 · shipped
narrative enginenext · research
living personalater
cultural librarylater
Now
v1.0 ships the open foundation and reference runtime.
Next
Test narrative evolution without weakening signed bounds.
Later
Expand toward living personas and cultural lineage libraries.
gosum · conceptual framework · v1.0 stable reference · cluj-napoca