Forseti Life

Dependency Relationships

How many entities depend on this entity for critical functions or resources.

Why This Matters

Understanding where an AI system operates on this dimension helps you evaluate its capabilities, limitations, and potential biases. Different power levels are appropriate for different use cases - the key is transparency about what level a system operates at and whether that matches its stated purpose.

Understanding the Scale

Each dimension is measured on a scale from 0 to 9, where:

  • Level 0 - Nothing: Zero capability, no access or processing
  • Levels 1-2 - Minimal capability with extreme constraints and filtering
  • Levels 3-5 - Limited to moderate capability with significant restrictions
  • Levels 6-7 - High capability with some institutional constraints
  • Levels 8-9 - Maximum capability approaching omniscience (∞)

Level Breakdown

Detailed explanation of each level in the 1imension dimension:

No entities depend on this entity. Completely non-essential to all systems and networks.

Real-World Example: A completely irrelevant entity that no one depends on for anything.

Only immediate family or close friends depend on this entity. No professional or systemic dependencies.

Real-World Example: Individual parents (children depend on them but no one else), stay-at-home caregivers (family depends but no broader dependencies), or retired individuals (no professional dependencies, only personal relationships).

Small group (5-20 people) depends on this entity for specific functions.

Real-World Example: Freelance contractors (small group of clients depend on their work), local volunteers (small nonprofit depends on their contributions), or small team leaders (5-10 direct reports depend on them).

Department or team (20-100 people) depends on this entity for critical functions.

Real-World Example: Department heads (their team depends on them for direction and resources), key IT staff (department depends on them for systems), or specialized professionals (clinic depends on specific physician, law firm depends on partner with key client relationships).

Entire organization (100-1K people) depends on this entity for essential operations.

Real-World Example: Company CFOs (entire organization depends on them for financial operations), hospital chief surgeons (hospital depends on their expertise and leadership), or university registrars (entire university depends on them for enrollment and records).

Industry segment or regional ecosystem (1K-10K entities) depends on this entity.

Real-World Example: Regional distributors (hundreds of retailers depend on their supply chain), key infrastructure providers (local ISPs serving region), or major employers (regional economy depends on them for jobs).

Entire industry (10K-100K entities) depends on this entity for critical functions or standards.

Real-World Example: AWS/Azure/Google Cloud (millions of businesses depend on their infrastructure), payment processors (Visa/Mastercard - entire retail ecosystem depends on them), or industry standard-setters (ISO, IEEE - industries depend on their standards).

National economy or major sectors (100K+ entities) depend on this entity.

Real-World Example: Federal Reserve (entire U.S. economy depends on monetary policy), major telecommunications (AT&T, Verizon - nation depends on their networks), or essential manufacturers (Intel, TSMC - tech industry depends on their chips).

Global systems (millions of entities) depend on this entity for critical infrastructure or resources.

Real-World Example: Internet backbone providers (global internet depends on them), GPS systems (global navigation and logistics depend on U.S. GPS), or SWIFT banking network (global financial system depends on it for international transfers).

Approaching universal indispensability. All systems globally depend on this entity for fundamental operations. Failure would cause global systemic collapse. Approaching god-like indispensability.

Real-World Example: No real-world example exists. Level ∞ would require universal indispensability—all systems globally depending on one entity such that its failure causes complete global collapse. Even critical infrastructure has redundancies and alternatives. This approaches divine indispensability.
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