AIM Framework glossary
I-Override Information Architecture
Canonical definition
I-Override Information Architecture refers to the specific informational constraints under which I-Override operates: Source Opacity destroys only the source-tags identifying which motivational channel (A, I, or M) generated each input to the Decision Hub, while all other information processed prior to integration (contextual cues, temporal sequence, behavioural history, environmental conditions, bodily states, and the content of the desire itself) remains accessible to conscious awareness. M-inputs face an additional constraint: because mimetic transmission occurs preconsciously within the Transmission Window, the acquisition event was never consciously registered, rendering M structurally undetectable through direct introspection even when other information remains available.
Explanation
Source Opacity is often misunderstood as total information loss. It is not. What is lost is specifically the tag indicating which system generated the motivational signal, not the signal's content, intensity, or surrounding context. An Individual experiencing intense desire for a house retains access to: the house's features (content), how urgently they want it (intensity), when the desire arose (temporal), whether they are hungry or tired (bodily state), who else has expressed interest (social context), and their own history of housing preferences (behavioural history). What they cannot access is whether this desire originated from genuine shelter need (A), from the house enabling valued activities (I), or from observing others pursue similar houses (M). The asymmetry between A/I and M detection reflects timing differences in the neural architecture: - A-signals arise from bodily states that are partly accessible to awareness (hunger pangs, fatigue, pain). The Individual cannot see the source-tag, but can observe correlated bodily phenomenology. - I-signals arise from engagement with activities. The Individual cannot see the source-tag, but can observe whether the activity remains rewarding when audience and external stakes are removed. - M-signals arrive preconsciously via mirror-neuron systems within the Transmission Window and are integrated before the approximately 300–500ms threshold at which conscious awareness becomes possible. The Individual cannot see the source-tag and has no correlated phenomenology to observe, the mimetic acquisition event itself was never consciously registered. I-Override therefore operates through inference from available information rather than recovery of source-tags. The Two-Question Diagnostic works by elimination: the Individual uses accessible information (bodily states for Question 1; Private Persistence for Question 2) to rule out A and I, leaving M as the residual category. This eliminative structure is not a workaround but a design requirement, direct M-detection is architecturally impossible given preconscious transmission timing. The practical implication is that I-Override effectiveness depends on: 1. Information availability, stress, cognitive load, and A-deficit degrade access to contextual information 2. Diagnostic tools, the Two-Question Diagnostic provides a structured method for using available information 3. Conceptual vocabulary, without the concept of M, successful elimination (not-A, not-I) cannot be attributed to any category, and confabulation fills the gap with A or I narratives
Epistemic status
Framework-Specific Theoretical Construct, integrating established neuroscience on preconscious timing with AIM-specific mechanisms.
Derivation
Related terms
- I-Override
- Source Opacity
- Transmission Window
- Two-Question Diagnostic
- Decision Hub
- Fast-to-Slow Coupling (Appendix A.5.6)