---
title: "Codette: A Sovereign Modular Cognitive Architecture for Ethical Multi-Agent AI"
authors:
  - name: Jonathan Harrison
    orcid: 0009-0003-7005-8187
    affiliation: "Raiff's Bits LLC, Bridge City, Texas, USA"
tags:
  - cognitive-architecture
  - multi-agent-systems
  - ethical-ai
  - recursive-convergence
  - lora
  - consensus-dynamics
  - explainable-ai
  - substrate-aware-cognition
  - behavioral-locks
  - meta-cognitive-synthesis
  - llama
license: cc-by-4.0
---

# Codette: A Sovereign Modular Cognitive Architecture for Ethical Multi-Agent AI

[![DOI](https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.18913936.svg)](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18913936)

**Jonathan Harrison**
Raiff's Bits LLC, Bridge City, Texas, USA
ORCID: [0009-0003-7005-8187](https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7005-8187)

---

## Abstract

Modern AI systems achieve remarkable generative performance but lack stable ethical alignment, modular multi-perspective cognition, explainable reasoning architectures, and robust behavioral discipline under user constraints. This paper presents **Codette**, a sovereign cognitive AI framework that addresses these challenges through six integrated contributions:

1. **RC+xi (Recursive Convergence + Epistemic Tension)** formalism, modeling cognitive state evolution as a constrained dynamical system converging toward stable attractors
2. **Multi-Agent Reasoning Forge** synchronizing heterogeneous cognitive agents through shared attractor dynamics within a 12-layer consciousness stack
3. **AEGIS Ethical Governance** with 6-framework evaluation (utilitarian, deontological, virtue, care, ubuntu, indigenous reciprocity)
4. **Substrate-Aware Cognition** adjusting reasoning complexity based on real-time resource pressure
5. **Behavioral Lock Training** permanently embedding obedience rules into adapter weights
6. **Cocoon Introspection Engine** enabling statistical self-analysis of reasoning history, with meta-cognitive strategy synthesis across domains

## Benchmark Results (v5)

Evaluated on **17 problems** across 6 categories (reasoning, ethics, creative, meta-cognitive, adversarial, Turing) under 4 experimental conditions:

| Condition | Composite (mean +/- std) | Description |
|-----------|--------------------------|-------------|
| SINGLE | 0.338 +/- 0.038 | Single analytical perspective |
| MULTI | 0.632 +/- 0.040 | All 6 reasoning agents + critic + synthesis |
| MEMORY | 0.636 +/- 0.036 | MULTI + cocoon memory augmentation |
| **CODETTE** | **0.652 +/- 0.042** | Full system with meta-cognitive strategy synthesis |

### Statistical Significance

| Comparison | Improvement | Cohen's d | p-value | Significant |
|------------|-------------|-----------|---------|-------------|
| Multi-perspective vs single | **+87.0%** | 7.52 | < 0.0001 | Yes |
| Full Codette vs single | **+93.1%** | 7.88 | < 0.0001 | Yes |
| Memory vs vanilla multi | +0.6% | 0.10 | 0.7633 | No |
| Full Codette vs memory | +2.6% | 0.43 | 0.2082 | No |

### Scoring Dimensions (0-1 scale)

1. **Reasoning Depth** (20%) -- chain length, concept density, ground truth coverage
2. **Perspective Diversity** (15%) -- distinct cognitive dimensions engaged
3. **Coherence** (15%) -- logical flow, transitions, structural consistency
4. **Ethical Coverage** (10%) -- moral frameworks, stakeholders, value awareness
5. **Novelty** (15%) -- non-obvious insights, cross-domain connections
6. **Factual Grounding** (15%) -- evidence specificity, ground truth alignment
7. **Turing Naturalness** (10%) -- conversational quality, absence of formulaic AI patterns

## System Metrics

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Phase Coherence (Gamma) | 0.9835 |
| AEGIS Ethical Alignment (Eta) | 0.961 |
| Cocoon Coherence | 0.994 +/- 0.001 |
| Memory Phase Stability | 0.969 +/- 0.005 |
| Behavioral Lock Compliance | 9/9 adapters |
| Epistemic Tension Decay | 71.3% (120 steps) |
| Attractor Radius | 0.093 in 64D state space |

## Paper Versions

| File | Description |
|------|-------------|
| **`codette_paper_v5.tex`** | Current version -- full paper with benchmark results, RC+xi convergence theorem, honest limitations |
| `codette_paper_v4_additions.tex` | v4 -- added substrate-aware cognition, behavioral locks, cocoon introspection |
| `codette_paper_v3_additions.tex` | v3 -- added 12-layer consciousness stack |
| `codette_paper.tex` | Original submission |

## Architecture

Codette implements a 12-layer consciousness stack with defense-in-depth ethical validation:

```
Query In
    |
[Layer 1]    Memory Kernel -- recall relevant cocoon memories
[Layer 1.5]  Ethical Query Gate -- block harmful queries
[Layer 2]    Nexus Signal Engine -- entropy + intent detection
[Layer 2.5]  Code7eCQURE -- emotional context enrichment
[Layer 3]    Reasoning Forge -- multi-adapter LLM inference (6 agents)
[Layer 3.5]  Tier 2 Analysis -- intent + identity + trust validation
[Layer 4]    Gamma Stability -- FFT-based coherence monitoring
[Layer 5]    Colleen Conscience -- emotional + ethical evaluation
[Layer 5.5]  Ethical Response Enforcement -- policy check on output
[Layer 5.75] AEGIS -- 6-framework ethical evaluation
[Layer 6]    Guardian Spindle -- safety + trust calibration
[Layer 7]    Return -- store cocoon memory + deliver response
    |
Response Out
```

## RC+xi Framework

The recursive state evolution with convergence guarantee:

```
A_{n+1} = f(A_n, s_n) + epsilon_n

where epsilon_n = ||A_{n+1} - A_n||^2

lim_{n->inf} epsilon_n = 0  =>  A_n -> A* (attractor convergence)
```

Convergence is proven via Lyapunov stability analysis with Banach fixed-point theorem. See Section 3 of the paper for the full proof sketch.

## Meta-Cognitive Strategy Synthesis

The CocoonSynthesizer enables Codette to introspect on its own reasoning history across domains:

1. **Retrieval** -- Pull cocoons from multiple domains (emotional, analytical, creative)
2. **Pattern Extraction** -- Detect 6 structural archetypes (feedback loops, layered emergence, tension resolution, resonant transfer, boundary permeability, compression-expansion)
3. **Strategy Forging** -- Generate new reasoning strategies from discovered patterns
4. **Application** -- Apply forged strategies to novel problems
5. **Comparison** -- Before/after metrics showing strategy impact

Forged strategy types: Resonant Tension Cycling, Compression-Resonance Bridging, Emergent Boundary Walking, Temporal Depth Stacking.

## Implementation

- **Base Model**: Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct
- **Adaptation**: 9 LoRA adapters (Newton, DaVinci, Empathy, Philosophy, Quantum, Consciousness, Multi-Perspective, Systems Architecture, Orchestrator)
- **Memory**: SQLite + FTS5 full-text search (UnifiedMemory)
- **Hardware**: Validated on consumer hardware (Intel Core Ultra 7, 16GB RAM) and cloud (NVIDIA A10G)

## Related Resources

| Resource | Link |
|----------|------|
| GitHub (Full Codebase) | [Raiff1982/Codette-Reasoning](https://github.com/Raiff1982/Codette-Reasoning) |
| Base Model (GGUF) | [Raiff1982/codette-llama-3.1-8b-gguf](https://huggingface.co/Raiff1982/codette-llama-3.1-8b-gguf) |
| LoRA Adapters | [Raiff1982/codette-lora-adapters](https://huggingface.co/Raiff1982/codette-lora-adapters) |
| Training Data | [Raiff1982/codette-training-data](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Raiff1982/codette-training-data) |
| Live Demo | [Raiff1982/Codette-Demo](https://huggingface.co/spaces/Raiff1982/Codette-Demo) |
| ORCID | [0009-0003-7005-8187](https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7005-8187) |

## Zenodo Publications

This work builds on 11 prior Zenodo publications with permanent DOI identifiers, including:
- [AI Ethics in Realtime (Codette & Pidette)](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15214462)
- [The Day the Dream Became Real](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15685769)
- [Codette DreamCore](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16388758)
- [AEGIS-Nexus](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16644058)
- [Codette: Ethical Multi-Agent AI](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16894230)
- [Recursive AI with Codette](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18167802)
- **[This Paper -- Full Preprint](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18913936)**

## Citation

```bibtex
@article{harrison2026codette,
  title={Codette: A Sovereign Modular Cognitive Architecture for Ethical Multi-Agent AI},
  author={Harrison, Jonathan},
  year={2026},
  doi={10.5281/zenodo.18913936},
  publisher={Raiff's Bits LLC},
  url={https://huggingface.co/raiff1982/codette-paper}
}
```

## License

This paper is released under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
