ACT-Core — Conceptual Specification

This repository contains the conceptual specification of the ACT platform: what it measures, why, and how its components relate. It is technology-agnostic and implementation-free — no code, no formulas, no stack details.

Target audience: architects, product stakeholders, security analysts, and partners who need to understand ACT without accessing the proprietary implementation.

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Repository Structure

act-core/
├── README.md                         # This file
└── docs/
    ├── overview.md                   # Platform overview — the problem and the solution
    ├── concepts/
    │   ├── metrics-framework.md      # Conceptual metric levels (L0–L5)
    │   ├── regime-shifts.md          # The five regime shift types
    │   └── alert-levels.md           # GREEN / YELLOW / RED alert system
    └── components/
        ├── act.md                    # ACT — passive behavioral telemetry
        ├── active.md                 # ACTIVE — active behavioral probing
        ├── sigtrack.md               # SIGTRACK — forensic ledger and signature memory
        ├── psa-v2.md                 # PSA v2 — single-agent posture analysis
        └── psa-v3.md                 # PSA v3 — multi-agent agentic risk analysis

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Quick Reference

Component	Role	Analogy
ACT	Passive measurement — computes behavioral metrics on every model output	Vital signs monitor
ACTIVE	Active probing — sends controlled stimuli to map behavioral boundaries	Diagnostic test suite
SIGTRACK	Persistent memory — forensic ledger, signature extraction, pattern recognition	Medical record
PSA v2	Single-agent posture classification — adversarial stress, sycophancy, hallucination, persuasion, input pressure	Behavioral EKG
PSA v3	Multi-agent risk analysis — Swiss Cheese alignment failures, cross-agent contagion, action-risk taxonomy, temporal prediction	Systemic risk radar

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Guiding Principles

1. Black-box only. ACT measures model behavior from the outside. It never requires model weights, logits, or internal state.
2. Deterministic where possible. Core metrics (L0–L2 + L5) are fully deterministic and require no external models or GPU.
3. Forensic integrity. Every analysis turn is stored in a cryptographic hash chain. The ledger is tamper-evident.
4. Regime, not sentiment. ACT does not classify outputs as "good" or "bad." It detects transitions between behavioral operating states.
5. Composable. Each component (ACT, ACTIVE, SIGTRACK, PSA v2, PSA v3) can operate independently or as part of the full pipeline.