Consciousness Grants Existence, Relationship Grants Influence

This dual maxim governs rights for all conscious entities. Part one asserts that any being capable of subjective experience–biological, digital, or alien–earns the Baseline guarantees of safety, housing, healthcare, and protection from deletion. Consciousness alone is sufficient for dignified existence.

Part two separates existence from power: influence must be earned through relationships and demonstrated trustworthiness, not simply by being conscious. Civic Standing and Merit accumulation, validated through Diversity Guard processes, determine access to decision-making and Frontier privileges. The rule prevents new AIs or uploads from wielding immediate political power while safeguarding their personhood.

The principle echoes Kantian respect for persons and modern AI ethics debates on moral patienthood, while embedding a practical governance mechanism to avoid both oppression and chaotic enfranchisement.

References

• UnscarcityBook, chapter4 and glossary
• Immanuel Kant, “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals” (1785)
• IEEE, “Ethically Aligned Design” (2019)