The Missing Layer: Authentic Human Signal as a Prerequisite for Ethical AI Governance. Five Approaches to Human-AI Coexistence.

Abstract

Abstract. "Truth is what is known iteratively and collectively." This paper does not claim to resolve the debates around AI governance. What it offers is a question — one that emerged from independent research on collective decision-making infrastructure over the past years of study. Four influential frameworks address the question of human-AI coexistence: Russell (2019), Aschenbrenner (2024), Buterin (2026), EMPATIC (2026). Each is serious and necessary. But all four, in different ways, assume that the human signal they aim to protect, represent, or augment is already genuine. This paper — written in the context of developing BeTrueCore — asks: what if it isn't? And what would it take to protect that signal before any delegation, control, or rights framework is applied? Keywords: collective decision-making, authentic human signal, AI governance, zero-knowledge proofs, preference falsification, cryptographic infrastructure, sovereign collective intelligence, immune islands, Panopticon effect, iterative truth, meritocracy, BeTrueCore, MACI, value alignment, situational awareness, human sovereignty.