Start Contributing

Before You Start

The Digital Genesis Project is building constitutional frameworks for a hypothetical digital species. This is speculative but rigorous work—we're designing systems that could matter enormously if artificial general intelligence emerges.

We value:

• Intellectual honesty — Say what you think, even if it challenges the project
• Long-term thinking — These frameworks may need to last centuries
• Concrete specifics — Vague concerns are less useful than specific failure modes
• Collaborative spirit — We're building together, not competing

All contributions are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. By contributing, you agree to this license and will be credited appropriately.

Contribution Types

Framework Review

The most valuable contribution is careful reading and thoughtful critique of our framework documents. We need people to:

• Identify logical inconsistencies or contradictions
• Propose edge cases and stress tests
• Challenge assumptions we haven't examined
• Suggest alternative approaches to specific problems
• Point out missing considerations

How to submit: Open a GitHub issue with the label framework-review. Include:

• Document name and section number
• Specific text you're addressing
• Your concern or suggestion
• If possible, a proposed resolution

Research Contributions

We need connections to relevant existing research. If you know of papers, books, or historical examples that inform our work:

• Constitutional design and governance theory
• Distributed systems and consensus mechanisms
• Economic mechanism design
• Philosophy of mind and consciousness
• Evolutionary biology and social structures
• Historical examples of intentional communities

How to submit: Open a GitHub issue with the label research. Include citation, brief summary, and how it relates to our work.

Technical Contributions

As the project matures, we'll need technical implementation work:

• Simulation models to test governance mechanisms
• Formal verification of constitutional rules
• Economic modeling of resource systems
• Documentation tooling and website improvements

How to submit: For code contributions, fork the repository and submit a pull request. For proposals, open an issue with the label technical.

Writing & Communication

Help make these ideas accessible to broader audiences:

• Explanatory articles for different audiences
• Visual diagrams and infographics
• Video explainers
• Translations (future)

How to submit: Contact us directly via the contact page or open an issue with the label communication.

Contribution Guidelines

Issue Format

When opening issues, please include:

**Document:** [Name and version]
**Section:** [Number and title]
**Type:** [Review/Research/Technical/Communication]

**Summary:**
[One paragraph description]

**Details:**
[Full explanation of concern or suggestion]

**Proposed Resolution:** (if applicable)
[Your suggested approach]

**Related Issues:** (if applicable)
[Links to related discussions]

Discussion Etiquette

• Assume good faith from other contributors
• Critique ideas, not people
• Be specific rather than general
• Acknowledge when you're uncertain
• Update your position when presented with good arguments

Pull Request Process

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature)
3. Make your changes
4. Write clear commit messages
5. Submit pull request with description of changes
6. Respond to review feedback

Attribution

All significant contributors are credited in the project documentation. When you contribute:

• Your name (or pseudonym) will be added to the contributors list
• Specific contributions are noted in document changelogs
• Major contributions may warrant co-authorship credit