AIM Framework glossary
Proxy
Canonical definition
A Proxy is an entity (human intermediary, institutional vehicle, or artificial system) that acts on behalf of or in the interests of an Individual, business or collective, as distinct from the Individual whose motivational architecture AIM describes.
Explanation
AIM reserves "Individual" for natural persons whose behaviour arises from an integrated A-I-M system, and uses "Proxy" (not “Agent”) for delegation, proxy action, or artificial systems to avoid confusion with the generic usage of "agent" in evolutionary psychology and causal cognition contexts. Brokers, algorithmic traders, corporate officers acting for shareholders, and AI systems executing on an Individual's behalf are all Proxies. This distinction matters in governance design: a wealthy individual may deploy Proxies to circumvent blind-pricing systems or reconstruct visibility maps, but the motivational analysis (why this is attractive, how it exploits M) sits at the level of the Individual, while the circumvention mechanism operates through Proxies.
Epistemic status
Theoretical Construct.
Derivation
Related terms
- Decision Hub
- I-Override
- AIM Profile (Individual
- Group
- or System)
- Consent