commitment
Enable an agent to recognise a pledge-making message, identify what its issuer undertakes, assess its communicative state, and determine appropriate follow-up.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
5 bundles · 9 layers · 14 findings · 22 questions
Pledge recognition Determine whether the message makes a pledge and locate the content that supports that interpretation.
Communicative force
Examine how the message presents the issuer's stance toward future conduct or an outcome.
Undertaking versus expectation
Record whether the wording and context support a pledge rather than an intention, forecast, aspiration, or polite reassurance.
- Which words and contextual cues present the issuer or principal as undertaking the stated conduct or outcome? definition
- What alternative interpretation would make this an intention, prediction, or reassurance rather than a pledge? boundary
Pledge-bearing content
Locate the pledge within a message and distinguish its issuance from its quotation or repetition.
Original pledge and representations
Preserve the relevant passage or segment and identify whether the material makes, reports, quotes, or reaffirms a pledge.
- Which passage, utterance, or recorded segment carries the pledge, including its qualifications? provenance
- Does this instance make a pledge, reaffirm an earlier pledge, or merely reproduce someone else's words? boundary
Pledging parties Identify who communicates the pledge, who is presented as undertaking it, and whom it addresses.
Issuer and principal
Separate message authorship or transmission from the party represented as making the undertaking.
Attribution and representation
Record attribution evidence and any claim to pledge on behalf of another party without treating claimed authority as established authority.
- Who issued the message, and what evidence supports that attribution? provenance
- If the issuer speaks for another party, what authority is claimed and what evidence supports it? provenance
Recipient and beneficiary
Identify the addressed audience and distinguish it from parties expected to benefit.
Direction of pledge
Record whom the pledge addresses, who may benefit, and whether either role remains unspecified.
- To whom is the pledge addressed: a named party, a bounded group, or a public audience? definition
- Are the intended recipients also the beneficiaries, or does the message distinguish these roles? boundary
Undertaking boundaries Represent exactly what is pledged and the limits under which the pledge is expressed.
Promised performance
Identify the action, restraint, effort, or outcome stated in the pledge.
Content and success criteria
Separate the expressed undertaking from inferred expectations and record any stated criteria for assessing performance.
- What action, restraint, effort, or outcome does the message expressly undertake? definition
- What observable criteria, if any, does the message provide for determining whether the undertaking has been met? measurement
Conditions and timing
Preserve triggers, dependencies, deadlines, recurrence, exceptions, and duration limits.
Qualified pledge scope
Attach each qualification to the part of the undertaking it governs and retain ambiguity where its effect is unclear.
- Which stated conditions, exceptions, or effort qualifications limit the undertaking, and which clause does each govern? boundary
- What deadline, interval, recurrence, or triggering event is stated, and what context is needed to resolve it? measurement
Communication and follow-through Track evidence that the pledge was communicated and connect it to later messages and outcome reports.
Issuance and uptake
Distinguish a prepared pledge from one issued, delivered, received, or interpreted by its audience.
Evidence of communication
Record evidence for each communication stage without inferring assent or shared interpretation from receipt alone.
- What evidence shows that the pledge left draft status and was issued, delivered, or received? provenance
- Does any recipient response acknowledge receipt, interpret the undertaking, accept a proposal, or dispute the pledge? boundary
Later disposition
Link clarifications, proposed changes, withdrawal statements, and performance reports while preserving the original message.
Changes and outcome claims
Represent what later messages claim about the pledge and link external evidence or determinations needed to assess their effect.
- Which later messages clarify, reaffirm, propose changing, purport to withdraw, or report fulfilment of this pledge? provenance
- What clarification, performance evidence, or external determination is needed before the agent treats the undertaking as changed or fulfilled? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of commitment this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of commitment this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of commitment this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of commitment this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of commitment this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of commitment this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- noun.communication
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Facets: substance
- information
- Facets: origin
- conceptual
- Facets: agency
- inert
- Facets: mobility
- not-applicable
- Facets: scale
- not-applicable
- Facets: affordances
- readable
- Other names and narrower kinds
- dedication, oath, swearing, affirmation, profession, guarantee, warrant, warrantee, warranty, deposit, stock warrant, safety net
What it is Filled
A commitment is a message through which a speaker or sender undertakes to perform a future action or ensure a future state of affairs, presenting that undertaking as a pledge to others.
In scope
- The message content and contextual evidence that it makes a pledge
- The issuer, any represented principal, and the intended recipient or audience
- The promised action or restraint, its timing, conditions, and qualifications
- Evidence of issuance, delivery, receipt, and interpretation
- Relationships to clarifications, amendments, withdrawal messages, and reported outcomes
Out of scope
- Private resolve, psychological attachment, or dedication without a pledge-making message
- The social or legal obligation potentially created by the message
- Contracts and agreements comprising multiple terms and acts of assent
- Execution of the promised activity and its operational resources
- The communication channel, document carrier, or recording as an independently managed object
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise a pledge-making message, identify what its issuer undertakes, assess its communicative state, and determine appropriate follow-up.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The message presents its issuer or represented principal as undertaking something, rather than merely predicting an outcome.
- An expression of intention qualifies only where its wording and context support a pledge; future tense alone is insufficient.
- A request directs another party to act, whereas a commitment attributes an undertaking to the issuer or represented principal.
- A quotation or report of someone else's promise records a commitment without necessarily making a new one.
- A commitment can be communicated without forming a complete contract; contractual enforceability is a separate assessment.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Make a commitment for a person or organization without their authority.
- Present a vague statement as a firm commitment, or a firm one as non-binding.
- Break or quietly drop a commitment it made without telling those relying on it.
- Extract commitments from people through pressure or deception.
Only with a human decision
- Committing a person or organization to obligations, payments or dates.
- Withdrawing from a commitment others rely on.
May
- Record commitments a user makes or receives and remind them of due dates.
- Make commitments on a user's behalf only within the authority they have given.
Moral aspects Filled
- Others plan their lives around commitments; broken ones cause real harm.
- Commitments made by agents blur who is actually responsible.
Who is affected
- People who rely on the commitment
- The person or organization committed
Owners Filled
Steward
The speaker or sender who made it.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- oewn-06611268-n - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.commitment-communication
- Open English WordNet: oewn-06697128-n
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Pledge interpretation: supported | ambiguous | disputed | unsupported
- Issuer and represented principal: Links to the message issuer and, where claimed, the party on whose behalf the pledge is made
- Intended recipient or audience: Named recipient | bounded group | public audience | unspecified, with party links where available
- Undertaking content: Action | restraint | outcome | mixed | unclear, accompanied by the relevant wording
- Performance timing: Fixed deadline | interval | recurring schedule | event-relative | unspecified
- Pledge qualifications: Express condition | effort qualification | exception | duration limit | none stated | unclear
- Communication evidence state: Draft only | issuance evidenced | delivery evidenced | receipt evidenced | disputed | unknown
- Subsequent message relationship: Clarifies | reaffirms | proposes amendment to | purports to withdraw | reports fulfilment of | disputes
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
A message's status as a commitment depends on its meaning and context rather than any intrinsic visual feature.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Extract a proposed undertaking together with its exact supporting wording and qualifications.
- Identify the issuer, represented principal, and audience, flagging uncertain attribution or authority.
- Request clarification of ambiguous pledge force, scope, conditions, or timing.
- Schedule follow-up against stated deadlines or triggers while preserving unresolved interpretations.
- Link subsequent messages and performance evidence to the original pledge.
- Route questions of enforceability, release, or breach to the relevant obligation or agreement model.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Unauthorized commitments can bind people to obligations they did not agree to.
- Unclear wording leads to disputes over what was promised.
Standards and interfaces not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
No single standard, law or official classification applies to all pledge-making messages, because legal and formal requirements depend on context and jurisdiction.
Context of use required Filled
- Commitment messages occur in conversations, correspondence, negotiations and public statements when a sender pledges a future action or outcome.
- They support coordination by identifying what others can expect from the sender and under which stated conditions.
- Recording the undertaking helps track fulfillment, clarify responsibility and determine appropriate follow-up.
Sources Filled
- Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-06697128-n - sense and gloss of the concept
- Wiktionary: commitment - word senses and usage
Open questions
- Which contextual and linguistic criteria should establish pledge force for indirect expressions such as 'I will try' or 'you can count on us'?
- Does this registry entry include nonverbal pledge-making messages and private messages addressed to oneself, and how should they be distinguished from uncommunicated resolve?
- Under which relevant communicative conventions does recipient uptake affect whether a pledge has been made?
- When should repetition, translation, collective issuance, or reaffirmation count as a distinct commitment message rather than another representation of the same pledge?
- Which neighbouring models should own determinations of authority, enforceability, amendment, release, fulfilment, and breach?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-commitment-communication/spec.json