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Companion Release: Cognitive Sovereignty Framework (CSF) — Now Live

Cyber Strategy Institute · February 2026

The Gap AI SAFE² Does Not Cover

AI SAFE² secures the AI system. It governs the tool — prompt injection defenses, agent scoping, data leakage prevention, swarm governance, runtime circuit breakers. It answers the question: Is the AI system trustworthy and correctly bounded?

It does not answer a second, equally critical question: Is the human operating the system cognitively sovereign?

An operator who has experienced sufficient attention capture, cognitive offloading, or decision automation capture can be fully compromised — regardless of how well-hardened their AI infrastructure is. The AI system is secure. The human operating it is not. This is the gap the AI SAFE² framework was designed to acknowledge but not address.

That gap now has a companion framework.

Introducing the Cognitive Sovereignty Framework

The Cognitive Sovereignty Framework (CSF) is the CSI open-source response to the human layer of the AI security problem. Where AI SAFE² protects the machine, the CSF protects the person.

→ CSF Learning Hub — Start here. What it is, why it exists, how to use it.
→ Threat Explorer — Interactive taxonomy, CTSS scoring, swarm threat phases, human outcome indicators.
→ Command Center — Full framework in a single operational dashboard.
→ Full Repository — Source files, taxonomy registry, assessment templates, examples.

How They Fit Together

AI SAFE² — Machine Layer CSF — Human Layer
Defends The AI system The human operator
Governs The tool The capacity to govern the tool
Prevents Prompt injection, data leakage, unsafe autonomy Cognitive offloading, attention capture, decision automation capture, identity fragmentation
Ensures AI stays in its lane The human stays capable of defining the lane
Repo https://github.com/CyberStrategyInstitute/ai-safe2-framework https://github.com/CyberStrategyInstitute/cognitive-sovereignty

The shared principle: Both frameworks are grounded in the same core commitment — AI is always a tool, never a moral agent. Human authority is non-negotiable.

In the CSF this is formalized as EFA (Ethical Functionality without Agency) and the E7 Protocol Stack — which places Mission and Authority permanently at Layer 7, ensuring human decision rights never leak downward into automated systems. This is the same architectural principle that AI SAFE²'s runtime governors enforce at the technical layer.

They are two implementations of the same doctrine at different layers of the stack.

The Threat That Connects Both Frameworks

The highest-scoring threat in the CSF taxonomy is T-CT-008: Memetic Swarm Orchestration (CTSS 90) — coordinated AI agent campaigns that test, evolve, and amplify narratives at non-human speed. This is the same threat class that AI SAFE²'s swarm governance pillar addresses at the infrastructure level.

AI SAFE² defends the integrity of AI systems against adversarial swarm techniques.
CSF defends human populations against the cognitive effects of swarm-delivered narratives.

Defending only one layer leaves the other entirely exposed.

→ Full swarm threat analysis — Phase A, B, and C

What to Do

If you are an AI SAFE² user:

  1. Review the CSF Six-Domain Assessment alongside your existing AI SAFE² implementation. Pay particular attention to Domain 6: Digital & AI Symbiosis — this is the human-layer complement to your existing AI governance work.

  2. Map your highest-scoring CTSS threats against your current AI SAFE² pillar coverage. Threats in the Substrate layer (Layer −1) — particularly ST-003 (Cognitive Offloading) and ST-006 (Guardrail Alignment Drift) — require human behavioral interventions that no technical control can substitute for.

  3. Use the live CTSS Calculator to score the cognitive threat posture of your operating environment alongside your AI SAFE² risk assessments.

If you are evaluating AI SAFE²:

The CSF is the companion framework for the human side of what AI SAFE² addresses technically. A complete AI security posture requires both. Start with the CSF Learning Hub.

Citation

@misc{csf_framework,
  title  = {Cognitive Sovereignty Framework v2.0},
  author = {Sullivan, Vincent and {Cyber Strategy Institute}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://github.com/CyberStrategyInstitute/cognitive-sovereignty}
}

Cyber Strategy Institute · https://cyberstrategyinstitute.com
AI SAFE²: https://github.com/CyberStrategyInstitute/ai-safe2-framework
CSF: https://github.com/CyberStrategyInstitute/cognitive-sovereignty