UK Patent Application

Applicant: Neil Grassby

AIEP --- Deterministic Ontology Mutation and Schema Expansion Framework

Abstract

A computer-implemented method and system for governed mutation and expansion of ontological schemas within an Architected Instruction & Evidence Protocol (AIEP) governed substrate. Ontology mutations are proposed as structured OntologyMutationProposals, evaluated for constitutional compliance, and accepted only when evidence-weighted justification exceeds defined acceptance thresholds. Accepted mutations produce a new canonical OntologyVersion with a computed OntologyMutationHash encoding the mutation event. All prior schema versions remain accessible in append-only lineage. Artefacts committed under prior versions retain their version binding. The invention provides deterministic, evidence-justified, lineage-intact ontological evolution without destructive version replacement.

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to governed distributed reasoning substrates and more particularly to deterministic mutation and versioned expansion of ontological schemas within an Architected Instruction & Evidence Protocol (AIEP) system.

Background to the Invention

[0002] Governed substrates define their operational semantics through versioned ontological schemas. As the substrate accumulates evidence across domains, the schema may require expansion to accommodate new concept classes, relationship types, or constraint categories.

[0003] Uncontrolled schema mutation risks breaking artefact lineage integrity, invalidating historical evidence records, and introducing non-deterministic behaviour across distributed nodes operating on different schema versions.

[0004A] Boundary Note (R2): Prior AIEP filings establish that each committed schema version is immutable and pinned once published. The present invention provides the governed process by which new schema versions are proposed, constitutionally evaluated, and accepted — it does not modify any committed version but generates successor versions in append-only lineage. Each resulting new version is itself immediately subject to schema-pinning invariants upon acceptance. The mutation proposal and acceptance process (this invention) and the immutability of each resulting version (prior schema pinning filings) are sequential and non-overlapping in scope.

[0004] There exists a need for a governed ontology mutation framework that subjects schema changes to constitutional governance, preserves all prior versions in append-only lineage, and ensures distributed nodes can deterministically verify mutation validity.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to a first aspect, there is provided a method for deterministic ontology mutation in a governed reasoning substrate, comprising:

(a) receiving an OntologyMutationProposal comprising: proposed schema changes in canonical form; evidence justification artefacts; and applicant identity;

(b) evaluating the proposal for constitutional compliance and evidence-weighted justification;

(c) accepting the mutation only when justification evidence weight exceeds a schema-defined acceptance threshold;

(d) computing an OntologyMutationHash as a cryptographic function over: the prior OntologyVersion hash, the canonical mutation encoding, and an acceptance timestamp;

(e) generating a new OntologyVersion incorporating the accepted mutation;

(f) appending the new OntologyVersion and OntologyMutationHash to append-only lineage; and

(g) preserving all prior schema versions as immutable lineage entries.

[0006] According to a second aspect, there is provided a system comprising: an OntologyMutationProposal evaluator; an OntologyMutationHash computation module; an OntologyVersion registry; and a lineage persistence controller.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

1. OntologyMutationProposal

[0007] A proposal comprises canonical mutation encoding, evidence justification artefacts, and applicant identity.

[0008] Canonical mutation encoding specifies: additions to concept class definitions; relationship type expansions; constraint category modifications; and compatibility rules for existing artefacts under the new version.

2. Constitutional Compliance Evaluation

[0009] Compliance evaluation verifies that the proposed mutation does not violate constitutional primitives.

[0010] Prohibited mutations include: removal of mandatory concept classes; invalidation of existing lineage artefacts; and modifications requiring destructive re-encoding of historical evidence.

[0011] Evidence-weighted justification is evaluated against the acceptance threshold.

3. OntologyMutationHash and Versioning

[0012] OntologyMutationHash is computed over the prior version hash, mutation encoding, and timestamp.

[0013] New OntologyVersion identifier includes OntologyMutationHash as a component.

[0014] Prior schema versions remain accessible and artefacts retain their version binding.

Technical Effect

[0015] The invention provides evidence-justified, constitutionally governed ontological evolution.

[0016] It preserves complete schema version history in append-only lineage.

[0017] It prevents destructive schema changes that would invalidate historical artefacts.

CLAIMS

1. A computer-implemented method for deterministic ontology mutation in a governed reasoning substrate, comprising: receiving an OntologyMutationProposal comprising canonical mutation encoding and evidence justification; evaluating constitutional compliance and evidence-weighted justification; accepting the mutation only when justification weight exceeds an acceptance threshold; computing an OntologyMutationHash over the prior version hash, mutation encoding, and timestamp; generating a new OntologyVersion; and preserving all prior schema versions as immutable lineage entries.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein prohibited mutations include removal of mandatory concept classes and invalidation of existing lineage artefacts.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein artefacts committed under prior versions retain their version binding after mutation acceptance.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein identical proposals evaluated against identical prior versions produce identical OntologyMutationHash values across distributed nodes.

5. A system for deterministic ontology mutation comprising: an OntologyMutationProposal evaluator; an OntologyMutationHash computation module; an OntologyVersion registry; and a lineage persistence controller.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed, perform the method of claim 1.

Abstract

A governed ontology mutation framework for AIEP substrates. OntologyMutationProposals are evaluated for constitutional compliance and evidence-weighted justification. Accepted mutations produce a new OntologyVersion with OntologyMutationHash encoding the event. All prior versions are preserved as immutable lineage entries. Artefacts retain version binding. The invention enables deterministic, evidence-justified, lineage-intact ontological evolution.

Brief Description of the Drawing

FIG. 1 — Schema Extension Framework

   ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │         Canonical Base Schema           │
   │         (AIEP v2.0.0 — locked)          │
   └──────────────────┬──────────────────────┘
                      │ extends (versioned)
   ┌──────────────────▼──────────────────────┐
   │         Domain Extension Schema         │
   │  namespace: aiep.ext.<domain>.<version> │
   │  ├── required base fields (inherited)   │
   │  └── domain-specific fields (additive)  │
   └──────────────────┬──────────────────────┘
                      │ validates
   ┌──────────────────▼──────────────────────┐
   │         Artefact Instance               │
   │  Validated against both base + extension│
   │  hash: H(artefact ‖ schema_version)     │
   └─────────────────────────────────────────┘