Forseti Life

Gatekeeping Power

Control over critical pathways, approvals, or bottlenecks in systems or processes.

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 control over pathways, approvals, or bottlenecks. No gatekeeping power.

Real-World Example: A powerless entity with no control over any decisions, pathways, or access.

Controls only personal access or individual decisions. No broader gatekeeping role.

Real-World Example: Individual contributors (control their own work but no approval authority), homeowners (control access to their own property only), or independent contractors (control their own time but no broader gatekeeping power).

Controls access or approvals for small group (5-20 people). Limited gatekeeping scope.

Real-World Example: Team leads (approve vacation requests for small team), small business owners (approve purchases for their shop), or receptionists (control access to small office).

Controls critical pathways or approvals for department (20-100 people).

Real-World Example: Department heads (approve budgets and projects for their department), HR managers (control hiring decisions for department), or procurement officers (control purchasing approvals).

Controls critical pathways for entire organization (100-1K people). Key decision bottleneck.

Real-World Example: C-suite executives (control strategic decisions for entire company), university admissions directors (control who gets accepted), or hospital credentialing committees (control which doctors can practice).

Controls access or approvals for regional scope (1K-10K entities).

Real-World Example: Regional regulators (approve business licenses for region), judges (control access to justice in their jurisdiction), or regional distribution managers (control product access for territory).

Controls critical pathways or standards for entire industry (10K-100K entities).

Real-World Example: FDA (controls drug approvals for entire pharma industry), app store operators (Apple/Google control app distribution to billions), or standards bodies (ISO controls industry standards compliance).

Controls critical pathways or approvals at national level (100K+ entities).

Real-World Example: Supreme Court (controls constitutional interpretation for nation), Federal Reserve (controls monetary policy and banking regulations), or Congress (controls legislation affecting entire nation).

Controls critical pathways or standards globally (millions of entities depend on approvals).

Real-World Example: UN Security Council (controls international military interventions), ICANN (controls internet domain name system), or major platform operators (Meta, Google control access to billions of users globally).

Approaching absolute gatekeeping power. Controls all critical pathways globally with no alternatives. Perfect bottleneck over all decisions and access. Approaching god-like absolute control.

Real-World Example: No real-world example exists. Level ∞ would require absolute gatekeeping power over all critical pathways globally with zero alternatives—control over all decisions, all approvals, all access points without any bypass or competition. Even the most powerful gatekeepers face alternatives and workarounds. This approaches divine absolute control.
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