The Four Responsibility Layers
Definition
All ESGR-aligned systems must explicitly separate responsibility into four layers:
- System Responsibility
- Interpretation Responsibility
- Support Variable Responsibility
- User & Context Responsibility
No layer may absorb responsibility belonging to another.
Why Responsibility Must Be Explicit
In complex human systems, most harm does not arise from bad intent, but from unclear responsibility attribution.
When responsibility is implicit:
- Metrics are mistaken for outcomes
- Observation is mistaken for intervention
- Systems are blamed for variables they cannot control
ESGR Framework treats responsibility as a first-class design constraint.
Layer 1: System Responsibility
The system is responsible for:
- Observing available signals
- Classifying state conditions
- Indicating capacity constraints
- Declaring uncertainty or insufficiency
The system answers:
"Under current conditions, is recovery structurally possible?"
The system is not responsible for:
- Changing the state
- Producing improvement
- Preventing negative outcomes
- Predicting individual results
Layer 2: Interpretation Responsibility
Interpretation layers (UI, reports, narratives) are responsible for:
- Translating system states into human-readable language
- Preserving uncertainty
- Avoiding implication of causality
Interpretation layers must not:
- Predict improvement
- Assign blame
- Suggest diagnosis
- Imply treatment or cure
Interpretation must never outrun evidence.
Layer 3: Support Variable Responsibility
Support variables include:
- Nutritional inputs
- Behavioral suggestions
- Environmental adjustments
They are conditional modifiers, not causal agents.
Support variables may only claim:
- Support of recovery conditions
- Reduction of friction
- Assistance under appropriate circumstances
Support variables must never claim:
- Guaranteed effectiveness
- Direct causation of recovery
- Replacement of clinical care
Layer 4: User & Context Responsibility
The following are explicitly outside system responsibility:
- Sleep behavior
- Life stressors
- Workload
- Environment
- Individual biology
Holding systems accountable for uncontrollable variables:
- Encourages overclaiming
- Produces user dependence
- Degrades trust
ESGR preserves integrity by refusing such responsibility.
Compliance Note
Systems that allow responsibility leakage between layers violate ESGR Responsibility specifications.