See Practical Neighborhood Ethics for plain English meanings for key terms in the graph below.
Trying to clarify Marc's original diagram to emphasize similarities of the flow of information and control.
digraph { compound=true layout=dot rankdir=TB overlap=false concentrate=false bgcolor=lightblue //splines="" node [style=filled shape=box color=blue4 fontcolor=white] label="Nine Dimensions of the Ethical Regulator Theorem" Integrity [shape=hexagon] Transparency [shape=hexagon] Ethics [shape=hexagon] Purpose [shape=hexagon] Variety [shape=hexagon] Predictability [shape=hexagon] Truth [shape=hexagon] Intelligence [shape=hexagon] Influence[shape=hexagon] "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom" [style=filled shape=circle color=white fontcolor=black] "Model of\nSystem" [style=filled shape=circle color=white fontcolor=black] "Prioritized\nGoals" [style=filled shape=circle color=white fontcolor=black] "Model of\nSelf" [style=filled shape=circle color=white fontcolor=black] "Model of\nAcceptable\nBehavior\nVALUES" [shape=circle style=filled color=white fontcolor=black] "Audit\nCapability" [shape=circle style=filled color=white fontcolor=black] subgraph cluster1 {label="Effectiveness Subsystem" penwidth=3 Variety Intelligence Decision Truth "Model of\nSystem" Predictability "Model of\nSelf" Purpose "Prioritized\nGoals" "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom"} [label="Effectiveness\nCriteria"] subgraph cluster2 {color=red penwidth=3 label="Ethics Subsystem" "Model of\nAcceptable\nBehavior" "Audit\nCapability" Ethics Integrity Transparency Exception Audit} subgraph cluster3 {label="Environment" penwidth=3 Influence "External\nAuthority" "Regulated\nSystem"} "Model of\nSystem" -> Transparency [ label="monitored by" ltail=cluster1 lhead=cluster2] "Audit\nCapability" -> Transparency [label=enables] Purpose -> Intelligence [label=informs] Exception [color=red] Decision [color=red] Variety -> Intelligence [label=informs] Truth -> Intelligence [label=informs] Predictability -> Intelligence [label=informs] Decision -> Influence [label="Ethical Action\nor Truthful\nCommunication"] Ethics -> Intelligence [label=informs] Ethics -> Integrity [label=informs] Audit [style=filled shape=circle color=red fontcolor=white] Transparency -> Integrity[label="informs"] Transparency -> Audit[label="writes"] "Prioritized\nGoals" -> Purpose [label=defines] "Regulated\nSystem" -> Truth [ltail=cluster2 label="Awareness of\nRegulated System\nand Environment"] Influence ->"Regulated\nSystem" [label=affects] "Regulated\nSystem" [color=Green1 fontcolor=black] Integrity -> Decision [label="can\nveto" color=red fontcolor=red] Intelligence -> Decision [label=makes] "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom" -> Truth [label="contributes\nto"] "Model of\nSystem" -> Predictability [label=provides] "Model of\nSelf" -> Variety [label=provides] "Model of\nAcceptable\nBehavior\nVALUES" -> Ethics [label=defines] Integrity -> Exception [label="ethics\nviolated"] [color=red fontcolor=red] Exception -> "External\nAuthority" [color=red label=alerts fontcolor=red] "External\nAuthority" [color=Green1 fontcolor=black] "External\nAuthority" -> "Regulated\nSystem" [label="has\nauthority\nover"] } "Prioritized\nGoals" [style=rounded fontcolor=black] "Prioritized\nGoals" -> Purpose [label=defines] "Regulated\nSystem" -> Truth [ltail=cluster2 label="Awareness of\nRegulated System\nand Environment"] Influence ->"Regulated\nSystem" [label=affects] "Regulated\nSystem" [color=Green1 fontcolor=black] Integrity -> Decision [label="can\nveto" color=red fontcolor=red] Intelligence -> Decision [label=makes] "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom" [style=rounded fontcolor=black ] "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom" -> Truth [label="contributes\nto"] "Model of\nSystem" [style=rounded fontcolor=black] "Model of\nSystem" -> Predictability [label=provides] "Model of\nSelf" [style=rounded fontcolor=black] "Model of\nSelf" -> Variety [label=provides] Integrity -> Exception [label="ethics\nviolated"] [color=red fontcolor=red] Exception -> "External\nAuthority" [color=red label=alerts fontcolor=red] "External\nAuthority" [color=Green1 fontcolor=black] "External\nAuthority" -> "Regulated\nSystem" [label="has\nauthority\nover"] }
# Effectiveness Subsystem In the diagram, the first layer of nodes in the Effectiveness Subsystem are required to achieve the next layer (of properties). Layer two nodes are information properties. At layer three, Intelligence and Integrity are active processes that consume information. **Intelligence** makes a decision by selecting the best action (from Variety) to achieve the goals (from Purpose) in the current circumstances (from Truth) according to its model of the system (Predictability) without violating any Ethics.
*Our decisions in a particular situation are based on our goals, our understanding of the situation, and the ethical choices currently available to us.*
*For a group to come to a shared decision they will want to agree on: their goals, what is true, what is relevant, what is ethical, and what choices are or can be available for them to take.*
# Ethics Subsystem Like a person's conscience, **Integrity** monitors the decisions *before* they are executed. Transparency receives and records all pertinent information about the Effectiveness Subsystem in an audit trail. Normal flows are shown as black lines, ethical interventions are shown as red lines.
Ethical Regulators and Super-Ethical Systems by Mick Ashby
digraph { compound=true layout=dot rankdir=TB overlap=false concentrate=false bgcolor=lightblue //splines="" node [style=filled shape=box color=blue4 fontcolor=white] label="Nine Dimensions of the Ethical Regulator Theorem" Integrity [shape=hexagon] Transparency [shape=hexagon] Ethics [shape=hexagon] Purpose [shape=hexagon] Variety [shape=hexagon] Predictability [shape=hexagon] Truth [shape=hexagon] Intelligence [shape=hexagon] Influence[shape=hexagon] "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom" [style=filled shape=circle color=white fontcolor=black] "Model of\nSystem" [style=filled shape=circle color=white fontcolor=black] "Prioritized\nGoals" [style=filled shape=circle color=white fontcolor=black] "Model of\nSelf" [style=filled shape=circle color=white fontcolor=black] "Model of\nAcceptable\nBehavior\nVALUES" [shape=circle style=filled color=white fontcolor=black] "Model of\nAcceptable\nBehavior\nVALUES" -> Ethics [label=provides] subgraph cluster1 {label="Effectiveness Subsystem" Variety Intelligence Decision Truth "Model of\nSystem" Predictability "Model of\nSelf" Purpose "Prioritized\nGoals" "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom"} [label="Effectiveness\nCriteria"] subgraph cluster2 {color=red label="Ethics Subsystem" Ethics Integrity Transparency Exception Audit} subgraph cluster3 {label="Environment" Influence "External\nAuthority" "Regulated\nSystem"} "Model of\nSystem" -> Transparency [ label="monitored by" ltail=cluster1 lhead=cluster2]; Purpose -> Intelligence [label=informs] Exception [color=red] Decision [color=red] Variety -> Intelligence [label=informs] Truth -> Intelligence [label=informs] Predictability -> Intelligence [label=informs] Decision -> Influence [label="Ethical Action\nor Truthful\nCommunication"] Ethics -> Intelligence [label=informs] Ethics -> Integrity [label=informs] Audit [style=filled shape=circle color=red fontcolor=white] Transparency -> Integrity[label="informs"] Transparency -> Audit[label="writes"] "Prioritized\nGoals" -> Purpose [label=defines] "Regulated\nSystem" -> Truth [ltail=cluster2 label="Awareness of\nRegulated System\nand Environment"] Influence ->"Regulated\nSystem" [label=affects] "Regulated\nSystem" [color=Green1 fontcolor=black] Integrity -> Decision [label="can\nveto" color=red fontcolor=red] Intelligence -> Decision [label=makes] "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom" -> Truth [label="contributes\nto"] "Model of\nSystem" -> Predictability [label=provides] "Model of\nSelf" -> Variety [label=provides] Integrity -> Exception [label="ethics\nviolated"] [color=red fontcolor=red] Exception -> "External\nAuthority" [color=red label=alerts fontcolor=red] "External\nAuthority" [color=Green1 fontcolor=black] "External\nAuthority" -> "Regulated\nSystem" [label="has\nauthority\nover"] } "Prioritized\nGoals" [style=rounded fontcolor=black] "Prioritized\nGoals" -> Purpose [label=defines] "Regulated\nSystem" -> Truth [ltail=cluster2 label="Awareness of\nRegulated System\nand Environment"] Influence ->"Regulated\nSystem" [label=affects] "Regulated\nSystem" [color=Green1 fontcolor=black] Integrity -> Decision [label="can\nveto" color=red fontcolor=red] Intelligence -> Decision [label=makes] "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom" [style=rounded fontcolor=black ] "Knowledge\nand\nWisdom" -> Truth [label="contributes\nto"] "Model of\nSystem" [style=rounded fontcolor=black] "Model of\nSystem" -> Predictability [label=provides] "Model of\nSelf" [style=rounded fontcolor=black] "Model of\nSelf" -> Variety [label=provides] Integrity -> Exception [label="ethics\nviolated"] [color=red fontcolor=red] Exception -> "External\nAuthority" [color=red label=alerts fontcolor=red] "External\nAuthority" [color=Green1 fontcolor=black] "External\nAuthority" -> "Regulated\nSystem" [label="has\nauthority\nover"] }
Mick prefers this layout and he has replaced "Model for Ethical Behavior" with "Model of Values". He has moved "Model of Values outside the Ethics Subsystem.
digraph { compound=true layout=dot rankdir=TB overlap=false concentrate=fals2 #bgcolor=lightblue //splines="" node [style=filled shape=box] #label= "\nOperating Meta Meta-Meta" Object "Observer" "Meta Observer" "Meta Meta Observer" #"Observer-1" -> Object #"Observer-2" -> {"Observer-1" Object} #"Observer-3" -> subgraph cluster4 { "Meta Meta Observer" subgraph cluster3 { bgcolor=lightblue subgraph cluster2 {bgcolor=blue Object "Observer"} "Meta Observer" } bgcolor=yellow} }