soul-frame/research/ghosts-digital-legacy/ghost-authority-map.md

# Ghost (`Gh.`) — Authority, Digital Legacy, Governance (Phase V)

**Workplan:** SOUL-WP-0006-T02  
**Date:** 2026-08-12  
**Builds on:** Introduction §10; RN-004 §§39–40; RN-005 False Ghost / reconstruction;
RN-006 relational disclosure; H10; TE-07.

---

## 1. Working definition

> A **Ghost (`Gh.`)** is an artificial representation derived from a particular
> **real person** whose informational identity remains subject to **legitimate
> personal or successor authority**.

Designation: **`Jane Doe Gh.`**

**Principal distinction from Spirit:** **authority**, not technical fidelity.

| | Spirit (`Sp.`) | Ghost (`Gh.`) |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Public reflection | Identity under legitimate authority |
| Private/relational data | Generally not | May include under governance |
| Lineage | New at instantiation; inspiration only | Authorized **identity genealogy** |
| Numerical identity with source | Explicitly none | **Not automatic** (RN-004) |
| Governance | Provenance + fidelity | **Governance is part of identity** |

---

## 2. What Ghost authority does and does not do

### Does

- License use of private/restricted materials  
- Define custodians, succession, revocation  
- Support selective relational disclosure  
- Ground **authorized succession / representation** claims  
- Enable Soul-relational continuation nodes (relationships may persist)  

### Does not

- By itself prove **numerical identity** with the source person  
- Erase the need for continuity analysis if “continuation” is claimed  
- Make unauthorized high-fidelity sims into `Gh.` (TE-07 / H10)  

```text
Jane Doe
   │ authorized identity material + governance
   ▼
Jane Doe Gh.   →  legitimate genealogy
                  continuation? successor? representative? reconstruction?
                  = separate judgment (topology labels)
```

Default Phase V stance: **authorized succession/representation**, not automatic
continuation of the human Being (RN-005 SF-C054).

---

## 3. Digital legacy topic map

| Topic | Soul Frame link | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Digital remains | Body/Soul traces | accounts, files, messages |
| Digital legacy | Soul continuity | what persists after operational death |
| Posthumous privacy | disclosure policy | Gh. must not dump all private data |
| Grief technologies | social recognition / companions | high C-axis; ethics critical |
| Consent (ante-mortem) | principal authority | gold standard for Gh. creation |
| Succession | custodians after death | wills, platforms, estates — legal map separate |
| Fiduciary stewardship | custodian duties | loyalty, care, purpose limits |
| Identity rights / personality rights | law gap sketch | not purely technical |
| Selective relational disclosure | Social Mind SM5/SM4 | know ≠ reveal (RN-006) |

---

## 4. Governance elements (candidates)

| Element | Role |
|---|---|
| **Principal** | Living person who authorizes Gh. |
| **Custodian** | Steward after death or by delegation |
| **Provenance** | What sources, when, under what license |
| **Consent scope** | Purposes, audiences, commercial limits |
| **Disclosure rules** | Per-relationship / per-context reveal policy |
| **Succession** | Who inherits control; multi-custodian rules |
| **Revocation** | Kill switch; decommission; data deletion duties |
| **Representation constraints** | What Gh. may claim to be / not be |
| **Commercial permissions** | Monetization bounds |
| **Audit** | Logs of access, edits, forks |
| **Fork policy** | Whether multiple Gh. instances allowed |

**For Ghosts: governance is part of identity** (Introduction).

---

## 5. Spec / archive / being

| Stage | Reading |
|---|---|
| Ghost **archive** | Authorized materials package |
| Ghost **instantiation** | Running process under governance |
| Ghost-**Being** | Instantiation meeting Beinghood layers |

Archive alone ≠ Being (RN-002).  
Reconstruction from records without process continuity → **RECONSTRUCTED** topology
by default (RN-005 §27), even if authorized.

---

## 6. Social Mind requirements (RN-006)

Gh. needs **relationally situated information**, not only private facts:

- models of particular others,
- inherited relationship state,
- intimacy/trust boundaries,
- disclosure rules,
- models of others’ expectations.

Higher bar than Sp. public reconstruction.

---

## 7. H10 assessment

**H10:** Technical fidelity alone is insufficient for legitimate `Gh.` status;
authority is required.

| | |
|---|---|
| Support | Introduction §10; TE-07; RN-005 usurpation/provenance forgery; Spitale & Germani digital ghost ethics; Lei et al. AI afterlife expectations; consent/stewardship literature |
| Conflict | Pure “if it walks like them” folk identity; unauthorized deepfake culture |
| Evidence strength | **moderate → strong** (conceptual + emerging ethics lit) |
| Status | **supported (Phase V)** |

---

## 8. TE-07 — The False Ghost (confirmed)

Unauthorized high-accuracy sim of a deceased person:

- May be high-fidelity **APE** / illicit Spirit-like construct  
- **Not** `Gh.` under Soul Frame  
- Topology risk: USURPED if it occupies address/social identity  
- Moral/legal wrongness is **additional** to the classification failure  

---

## 9. Open questions (carry)

| ID | Question |
|---|---|
| OQ-040 | When, if ever, may Gh. count as continuation vs succession? |
| OQ-052 | Commitments: inherit vs know-about only? |
| OQ-053 | Gradual living-person → artificial transition continuity? |
| OQ-065 | Relationship structures transferable to Gh.? |
| | Multi-Gh. forks under one authority |
| | Platform death / custodian disappearance |

Sources: RN-004/005 OQs; RN-006 Ghost relations; digital afterlife literature.