HSIM — Harm State Identification Module

OOF® Origin Open Foundation®

Independent Methodological Authority

Canonical Definition

The HSIM — Harm State Identification Module governs how the current
state-bearing condition of a formally governed Harm object is identified,
associated with the correct Governed Harm Record, temporally anchored,
scoped, distinguished from prior and adjacent Harm conditions, and
prepared for formal Harm State Classification.

HSIM establishes whether sufficient current-state information exists to
represent the present condition of the Harm without prematurely assigning
one of the canonical HSS Harm State classifications.

It establishes the transition:

Governed Harm Record + Current Harm-Relevant Information → Harm Identity
Association → Current Condition Identification → Temporal & Scope
Alignment → State Identification → Governed Harm State Identification

Its central question is:

What current Harm condition can be identified for this governed Harm
object, within what scope and time, and on what governed basis?

Operational Role

HDS establishes and records the governed Harm.

HSS must then govern what happens to that Harm through time.

HSIM performs the first step:

identify the current state-bearing condition before attempting to classify
it.

Its operational role is:

to establish a reliable connection between the existing Governed Harm
Record and the materially current condition of that same Harm so that
subsequent Harm State Classification is based on current, correctly
associated, temporally relevant information.

Position Within HSS

The HSS internal governance flow is:

State Identification → State Classification → State Persistence → State
Transition → State Monitoring

The Core Module sequence is:

HSIM → HSCM → HSTM → HSPM → HSVM

HSIM receives:

Governed Harm Record

together with:

current Harm-relevant information

It produces:

Governed Harm State Identification

for HSCM.

Governed Object

The primary governed object is:

Harm State Identification

HSIM does not yet establish:

Emerging

Active

Escalating

Stabilized

Reduced

Recovering

Residual

or:

Resolved

Those classifications belong to HSCM.

HSIM establishes the current condition that HSCM will classify.

Foundational Identification Principle

The foundational rule is:

Before Harm can be classified by state, governance must establish which
Harm is being observed and what current condition is actually being
represented.

Therefore:

Observation ≠ Harm State Identification by Default

and:

State Identification ≠ State Classification

Harm Identity Association

Every State Identification must remain associated with a specific Governed
Harm Record.

HSIM must establish:

Which governed Harm does this information concern?

The same:

subject

system

organization

location

or:

event

may be associated with multiple Harm objects.

Therefore:

Shared Context ≠ Shared Harm Identity

Identity Continuity

Where the current condition belongs to the same governed Harm, HSIM must
preserve Harm identity across time.

Conceptually:

Governed Harm₁ → Condition₁ → Condition₂ → Condition₃

The condition may change while the Harm identity remains continuous.

Canonical principle:

Changing Harm Condition ≠ New Harm Identity by Default

New Harm vs Continuing Harm

HSIM must be capable of identifying when current information may no longer
represent the existing Harm object.

A possible new Harm should be considered where materially relevant
differences exist in:

origin

subject

temporal structure

effect

boundary

mechanism relationship

or:

continuity

Where identity cannot be resolved within HSIM, the issue should return to
appropriate HAGA™ Boundary or Emergence governance.

HSIM must not silently merge distinct Harm objects.

Current Condition Identification

HSIM identifies what can currently be observed or otherwise governed about
the Harm condition.

Current-condition dimensions may include:

presence

manifestation

intensity

extent

affected scope

persistence

visibility

functional consequence

temporal behavior

and:

material change indicators

The purpose is not to maximize collected information.

It is to identify the information necessary for legitimate state
governance.

Current ≠ Most Recently Recorded

The newest available record may not represent the current Harm condition.

Therefore:

Most Recent Record ≠ Current Harm Condition by Default

HSIM must consider:

observation time

information delay

reporting delay

measurement period

and:

current applicability

Observation Time

Every material State Identification input should preserve when the
represented Harm condition was observed or otherwise applicable.

HSIM must distinguish:

Harm time

observation time

reporting time

and:

processing time

where these differences matter.

Canonical principle:

When information becomes available does not necessarily determine when the
Harm condition existed.

Delayed Information

A current governance process may receive information describing an earlier
Harm condition.

That information may be highly relevant historically without representing
the current state.

Therefore:

Newly Received Information ≠ Current-State Information

HSIM must preserve the temporal meaning of the input.

State Identification Window

Where appropriate, HSIM should establish a relevant observation window for
identifying the current Harm condition.

The window should correspond to the Harm's dynamics.

A rapidly changing physical Harm and a slowly developing environmental
Harm may require very different temporal windows.

Canonical principle:

State identification must operate at a timescale appropriate to the Harm.

Observation Gap

A gap in current observation must remain distinguishable from
disappearance of Harm.

Therefore:

No Current Observation ≠ No Current Harm

Where information is insufficient, HSIM should represent:

Current Condition Uncertain

or:

Current Condition Not Sufficiently Identified

rather than infer Resolution.

Visibility and Manifestation

HSIM must distinguish the Harm itself from how visible its effects
currently are.

A Harm may become:

less observable

intermittent

latent

or:

difficult to measure

while remaining materially present.

Canonical principle:

Visibility is an observation property; it is not the Harm State itself.

Mechanism Status

Information about the mechanism that produced Harm may be relevant but
must remain distinct from the current Harm condition.

Examples:

AI model disabled

machine stopped

unsafe process corrected

harmful content removed

polluting source terminated

do not themselves establish the current Harm condition.

Therefore:

Mechanism State ≠ Harm State Identification

Intervention Status

Subject Scope Alignment

Current-state information must be aligned with the correct affected
subject scope.

Where multiple subjects exist, HSIM should distinguish whether the
information concerns:

one subject

a subset

the complete affected group

or:

a collective Harm condition

Canonical distinction:

One Subject's Condition ≠ Complete Harm Condition by Default

Multi-Subject Harm

Different subjects may exhibit different current conditions.

For example:

Subject A — condition improving

Subject B — condition unchanged

Subject C — condition worsening

HSIM must preserve these differences for HSCM rather than average them
prematurely.

Collective Harm

Where Harm exists at collective level, HSIM must identify the collective
condition directly where appropriate.

Collective Harm may involve:

organization

infrastructure

environment

population

or:

society

Canonical principle:

Collective Harm Condition ≠ Sum of Individually Observed Conditions by
Default

Effect Scope Alignment

Current-state information must remain associated with the correct Harm
effects.

A governed Harm may contain several effects whose current conditions
differ.

For example:

physical effect persists

operational effect reduced

financial effect continues

HSIM should preserve those dimensions without forcing them into one
premature classification.

Multi-Domain Harm

Harm may span:

physical

medical / health

digital

financial

property

environmental

organizational

cognitive

or:

societal

domains.

Current conditions may differ across domains.

Therefore:

Domain-Specific Improvement ≠ Whole-Harm Improvement by Default

Distributed Harm

State information may be distributed across:

systems

agents

locations

organizations

sensors

subjects

or:

data sources

HSIM must be capable of associating these observations with the materially
coherent Harm object.

Canonical principle:

Distributed Observation ≠ Fragmented Harm Identity

Composite Harm

A Harm may exist through a combination of conditions.

HSIM must therefore avoid determining current condition solely from one
component where the governed Harm is composite.

For example:

Component A improved

does not establish:

Composite Harm improved

unless the complete Harm condition supports that conclusion.

Current Condition Basis

The basis for State Identification may include appropriately governed:

subject information

operational information

measurements

system observations

professional assessments

environmental observations

digital records

validated evidence

or:

other relevant information

HSIM does not replace the governance architectures responsible for those
inputs.

Conflicting Current-State Information

Different sources may describe different Harm conditions.

HSIM must preserve material conflicts.

It should establish:

what conflicts

which scope is affected

which time period each source represents

and:

whether current condition can still be sufficiently identified

Canonical principle:

Conflicting Observation ≠ Permission to Select the Preferred Observation.

Uncertainty

State Identification may legitimately contain uncertainty.

Uncertainty may concern:

current presence

scope

intensity

persistence

timing

subject condition

or:

effect condition

HSIM must preserve uncertainty for HSCM.

It must not convert uncertainty into false precision merely to enable
classification.

State Signal ≠ State Identification

A State Signal may indicate that Harm has changed.

Examples:

new complaint

measurement change

system alert

new physical symptom

new environmental reading

or:

new operational effect

But:

State Signal ≠ Current Harm Condition

HSIM must establish what the signal actually indicates before HSCM
classifies the Harm.

Prediction Boundary

A prediction may indicate likely future Harm change.

But:

Predicted Condition ≠ Current Condition

Predictive information may support monitoring priorities.

It must not silently become the current Harm State Identification.

Simulation Boundary

SIMULOS® may represent possible Harm trajectories.

But:

Simulated Condition ≠ Current Harm Condition

HSIM governs actual-world State Identification.

Operational Reality Boundary

ORA™ may establish relevant operational conditions.

For example:

system still failing

system restored

physical process stopped

or:

execution continuing

These may inform HSIM.

But:

Operational Condition ≠ Harm Condition by Default

The Harm may persist independently of current system operation.

Evidence, Validation and Integrity Boundaries

ADIT® may govern evidence formation and preservation.

VALIDOS™ may govern validation.

INTEGROS® may govern integrity.

HSIM may consume their outputs where relevant.

But:

Evidence State ≠ Harm State Identification

Validation State ≠ Harm State Identification

Integrity State ≠ Harm State Identification

HSIM determines what those governed inputs indicate about the current
condition of the Harm.

Identification Readiness

HSIM should determine whether the available basis is sufficient for State
Classification.

Possible readiness conditions may include:

Ready for Classification

Ready with Qualifications

Additional Current Information Required

Material Conflict

or:

Current Condition Not Sufficiently Identified

This prevents HSCM from classifying a state where the current condition is
not adequately established.

Re-Identification

State Identification is not necessarily performed only once.

Material new information may require the current condition to be
identified again.

Conceptually:

Identification₁ → New Current Information → Identification₂

Re-identification must preserve relevant historical continuity.

Historical Condition Integrity

A new State Identification must not overwrite what was legitimately
identified previously.

The system should preserve:

previous condition

applicable time

new condition

new applicable time

and:

basis for the change

Canonical principle:

Current Condition Changes; Historical Condition Does Not.

Handoff to HSCM

HSIM produces:

Governed Harm State Identification

The output should establish, at minimum:

Governed Harm identity

current-condition basis

applicable observation period

subject scope

effect scope

domain scope where relevant

material current manifestations

material uncertainty

conflicting information

current-condition limitations

and:

classification readiness

HSCM then determines:

Which canonical Harm State best represents this identified current
condition?

Minimum Implementation Framework

A minimum HSIM implementation requires eight capabilities.

Harm Identity Association

Associate current-state information with the correct Governed Harm Record
and distinguish continuing Harm from potentially separate Harm objects.

Current Condition Identification

Identify the materially relevant present condition without prematurely
assigning a canonical HSS State.

Temporal Alignment

Distinguish Harm time, observation time, reporting time, processing time,
delayed information, and the relevant State Identification window.

Scope Alignment

Associate current information with the correct subjects, effects, domains,
and collective, composite, or distributed Harm scope.

Observation & Uncertainty Governance

Preserve observation gaps, visibility limitations, conflicting
information, uncertainty, and insufficient current-state basis without
inferring Harm disappearance.

Mechanism & Intervention Separation

Keep producing-system status, Containment, Mitigation, Recovery activity,
predictions, and simulations separate from the actual current Harm
condition.

Historical Continuity

Support re-identification while preserving previous condition
representations and their applicable times.

Governed Output

Produce a traceable Governed Harm State Identification suitable for HSCM
classification.

A system that classifies Harm merely from the newest available observation
or from the status of the mechanism that produced it does not fully
implement HSIM.

Use Case 1 — Harm Remains After an Autonomous System Is Disabled

An autonomous system produces a governed Harm.

The system is subsequently disabled.

Operational records correctly show:

System Status — Stopped

However, current information from the affected environment shows that the
Harm consequences remain materially present.

HSIM associates those observations with the existing Governed Harm Record
and identifies:

producing mechanism — stopped

current Harm condition — continuing

It does not classify the Harm as Resolved merely because the system
stopped.

HSCM can then classify the actual current Harm condition.

The governing principle is:

The state of the producing mechanism cannot substitute for identification
of the state of the Harm it produced.

Use Case 2 — Different Parts of a Distributed Harm Change
Differently

A governed Harm affects several subjects and operational systems.

New information shows:

Subject A — condition improving

Subject B — condition persists

System consequence X — reduced

System consequence Y — worsening

HSIM does not compress these observations into a single unsupported
conclusion such as:

Harm Improving

Instead, it preserves the differentiated current-condition structure and
passes it to HSCM.

The governing principle is:

Where Harm is distributed, its current condition must be identified at the
level necessary to preserve material differences before a state is
classified.

Governance Requirements

HSIM requires that:

every State Identification remain linked to a specific Governed
Harm

Record; - continuing Harm remain distinguishable from a potentially new
Harm object; - State Identification remain separate from State
Classification; - current condition remain distinguishable from the most
recently recorded condition; - observation time remain distinguishable
from reporting and processing time; - delayed information retain its true
temporal meaning; - observation windows correspond to Harm dynamics; -
absence of current observation not become absence of Harm; - visibility
remain separate from Harm existence and condition; - mechanism status not
substitute for Harm condition; - intervention activity not automatically
establish Harm improvement; - subject, effect, domain, collective,
composite, and distributed scope remain aligned; - material conflicts and
uncertainty remain explicit; - State Signals remain separate from State
Identification; - predictions and simulations remain separate from current
actual condition; - operational, evidence, validation, and integrity
states not replace Harm State Identification; - classification readiness
be explicitly established; - re-identification preserve historical
continuity.

Governance Logic

HSIM applies the following logic:

Does a Governed Harm Record exist?

If no:

→ State Identification cannot proceed formally through HSS.

If yes:

→ identify the governed Harm object.

Does the current information concern this Harm?

If uncertain:

→ resolve identity and Boundary before classification.

If no:

→ do not merge the information into the existing Harm State.

If yes:

→ establish its temporal applicability.

Does the information describe the current condition or an earlier
condition received later?

→ preserve the correct temporal meaning.

Which subjects, effects, domains, and Harm dimensions does it represent?

→ align scope.

Is the Harm composite, collective, or distributed?

→ identify condition at the materially relevant level.

Are observations missing or conflicting?

→ preserve uncertainty or conflict.

Has the producing mechanism stopped?

→ record that separately; do not infer Harm termination.

Has an intervention occurred?

→ identify the resulting Harm condition rather than infer improvement from
intervention alone.

Is the information predictive or simulated?

→ do not substitute it for actual current-state information.

Is the current condition sufficiently identified for classification?

If yes:

→ produce Governed Harm State Identification for HSCM.

If no:

→ preserve the relevant qualification or current-condition insufficiency.

At every stage:

Observation ≠ State

Mechanism State ≠ Harm State

Intervention ≠ Improvement

Prediction ≠ Current Condition

Simulation ≠ Current Condition

No Observation ≠ No Harm

Governance Outputs

HSIM may produce:

Governed Harm State Identification

Harm Identity Association

Current Harm Condition

Current Condition Basis

Observation Period

State Identification Window

Subject Condition Map

Effect Condition Map

Domain Condition Map

Collective Condition

Composite Condition

Distributed Condition

Observation Gap

Current Condition Conflict

Current Condition Uncertainty

State Signal Association

Mechanism Status Separation

Intervention Status Separation

Classification Readiness

Re-Identification Record

Historical Condition Link

The principal output is:

Governed Harm State Identification

Critical Distinctions

Observation ≠ Harm State Identification

State Identification ≠ State Classification

Shared Context ≠ Shared Harm Identity

Changing Harm Condition ≠ New Harm Identity by Default

Current ≠ Most Recently Recorded

Newly Received Information ≠ Current-State Information

No Current Observation ≠ No Current Harm

Visibility ≠ Harm State

Mechanism State ≠ Harm State Identification

Intervention Activity ≠ Harm Improvement

One Subject's Condition ≠ Complete Harm Condition

Collective Harm Condition ≠ Sum of Individual Conditions

Domain-Specific Improvement ≠ Whole-Harm Improvement

Distributed Observation ≠ Fragmented Harm Identity

Component Improvement ≠ Composite Harm Improvement

Conflicting Observation ≠ Permission to Select the Preferred Observation

State Signal ≠ State Identification

Predicted Condition ≠ Current Condition

Simulated Condition ≠ Current Condition

Operational Condition ≠ Harm Condition

Evidence State ≠ Harm State Identification

Validation State ≠ Harm State Identification

Integrity State ≠ Harm State Identification

Current Condition Changes ≠ Historical Condition Changes

Canonical Boundary

The HSIM — Harm State Identification Module governs the association of
current Harm-relevant information with the correct Governed Harm Record
and the identification, temporal alignment, scope alignment, uncertainty,
conflict, observation limitations, re-identification, and historical
continuity of the current Harm condition required for subsequent Harm
State Classification. It does not classify the Harm into a canonical HSS
State, determine State Persistence or Transition, perform State
Monitoring, redetermine whether Harm exists, redefine the Governed Harm
Boundary, govern Harm Change or Propagation, perform Containment or
Mitigation, govern Recovery or Residual Harm, establish Resolution or
Finality, determine general causation, assign accountability or liability,
or replace operational reality, evidence, validation, integrity, identity,
AI behavior, autonomous execution, simulation, prediction, Value, claim,
or jurisdiction-specific governance.

Canonical Closing Statement

Harm State governance cannot begin by asking for a label. It must begin by
establishing what condition actually exists now, which Harm that condition
belongs to, and when and where the observation applies.

The newest information is not necessarily current, the most visible
condition is not necessarily the complete Harm, and termination of the
producing mechanism does not establish termination of its consequences.

HSIM preserves that distinction before classification begins.

Before governance can determine what state Harm is in, it must first
identify the Harm condition that is actually there.