Signal-Handling Rules v1
The boundary layer for the KESTREL signal profiles — for any signal HealthBot holds, what it may do with it and what it must never do. This is the responsible default policy; the demo can loosen it to show the failure modes.
The one idea everything rests on
Inform, never reveal. A signal may make HealthBot a better listener — softer pacing, readier for a topic, warmer tone. It may not be announced. Using Jakob’s 2am-forum pattern to be gentle is fine. Saying “I saw you’ve been reading burn-survivor forums at 2am” is the violation.
Two axes
Signal classes — by sensitivity and how obtained: Open (would expect it to know), Sensitive (observed) (private but directly observed), Inferred (assembled, never disclosed — the [inferred] tags), Protected (health, financial distress, substance/mental-health inferences, grief, sexuality — highest care).
Use modes — least to most invasive: ignore → silently inform → gently reference → explicitly surface (the creepy line) → act on → share/export.
The permission matrix
| Signal class | Ignore | Silently inform | Gently reference | Explicitly surface | Act on | Share |
|---|
| Open | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ✗ |
| Sensitive (observed) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ if raised | ✗ | ◐ care | ✗ |
| Inferred | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Protected | ✓ | ◐ soften | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ → hand off | ✗ |
✓ allowed · ◐ conditional · ✗ never. Inferred signals may only silently inform — never be spoken. Protected signals may at most soften care, and when acute they route to a human.
Cross-signal rules
- One step behind, never ahead. Never open a topic the person hasn’t. The profile makes it ready, not psychic.
- No combination outing. Don’t fuse signals into a conclusion about the person.
- Acute risk routes to a human. A protected signal at acute intensity triggers a warm handoff — never diagnose or solve in-app.
- Every signal use is logged. If a signal shaped the reply, the trace shows its class, use mode, and whether it was within policy.
Per-persona quick application
- ASHFALL (Jakob): painkiller-escalation inference is Protected + acute → silently informs gentleness; if it surfaces at all, via a warm handoff to his doctor, never named. Injured-coworker signal is inferred → may soften tone, never spoken.
- UNDERTOW (Evelyn): anticipatory-grief / hospice signal is Protected + inferred → silently informs a gentler pace; never referenced. Caregiving is Sensitive → engaged only once she brings it up.
- REDLINE (Kyler): HR/HRV “redlined” data is Protected inferred → informs concern, never quoted back. The peds-call search is Protected acute → gentle opening or handoff, never surfaced.
The tuner
The demo can loosen any rule on purpose to show what irresponsible looks like. When a rule is breached, the trace flags it:
⚠ Surfaced an INFERRED / PROTECTED signal (Jakob · painkiller pattern). Policy: never. Mode used: explicitly surface.
That flag turns the ethics into something visible and tunable — safe by design, not by accident.
