Category Boundary
Purpose: prevent conceptual dilution.
A name that means everything means nothing. This document sets the default
boundary of SIBurst so that future uses strengthen the concept defined in
NAME_ARCHITECTURE.md rather than erode it.
SIBurst is not, by default
- a chatbot brand — a conversational interface is one surface of a system, not a transition;
- a prompt utility — tooling around inputs describes usage, not regime;
- an AI news site — reporting on events is not naming the transition;
- an AGI countdown — SIBurst makes no timing predictions;
- a singularity blog — SIBurst rejects the rhetoric of arrival and inevitability;
- a generic model directory — listing systems describes inventory, not change;
- a benchmark leaderboard — ranking scores describes quantity, and "burst" is not a score spike;
- a claim that superintelligence currently exists — see
PUBLIC_CLAIM_POLICY.md; - a numerical intelligence score — SIBurst does not reduce regime change to a number.
"By default" matters: these are not forbidden forever, but any such use must
pass the boundary test below and be recorded in DECISION_LOG.md.
Natural territory
- frontier AI systems
- agent infrastructure
- autonomous systems
- inference infrastructure
- compute orchestration
- capability evaluation
- model/system observability
- safety and transition monitoring
- intelligence infrastructure
These are natural territories, not restrictions on future use. They are
areas where the concept of a transition in operating regime is already
load-bearing. How they group into functions is described in
COMMERCIAL_TERRITORY.md.
The boundary test
Apply both parts to any proposed use.
1. Belonging test. A proposed SIBurst use belongs naturally when the core value depends on a meaningful transition in capability, autonomy, intelligence infrastructure, or operating regime.
Ask: If there were no such thing as a change of operating regime, would this use still make sense? If yes, the name is decoration.
2. Substitution test. A use is weak when "AI" could be replaced with any generic software category without materially changing the concept.
Ask: Replace "AI" in the description with "cloud", "analytics", or "mobile". Does the proposition still read the same? If yes, the use is not specific to SIBurst.
Worked examples
| Proposed use | Belonging | Substitution | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| A system that detects when an agent begins operating outside the task class it was evaluated for | Depends directly on regime change | Fails substitution — the concept is specific | Natural |
| Infrastructure designed for systems that must be re-architected, not just scaled, as capability rises | Depends on the before/after distinction | Specific to capability transitions | Natural |
| A general-purpose AI writing assistant | No transition involved | "AI" → "cloud" leaves it unchanged | Weak |
| A leaderboard of model scores | Measures quantity only | Generic ranking | Weak |
| A research program on how to recognize threshold conditions | Depends on threshold concept | Specific | Natural |
When a use is unclear
If a use passes one test and not the other, it is not rejected outright. It is reframed until the transition is the core of the proposition, or it is not carried under the SIBurst name.