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kinship

vr.tr.kinship · thing-q171318

Let an agent handle kinship as culturally defined relations with legal effects, and avoid assuming one culture terminology or family structure.

Thing Registry Cross-cutting context XCT.REL
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Relations Who is related to whom and how.

Type of tie

Descent, marriage, adoption.

Tie type

The kind of relation.

  1. What kind of tie links these people? definition
  2. Is it recognised socially, legally or both? boundary

Degree

Closeness of relation.

Degree computation

The degree and how it is counted.

  1. What degree of relationship is this, by which counting system? measurement
  2. Does the system matter for the purpose at hand? boundary
Terminology Words for relatives.

Terms

The kinship term used.

Term meaning

What the term covers.

  1. Which relatives does this term cover? definition
  2. Which distinctions does it make that English does not? boundary

Translation

Mapping between languages.

Translation choice

How it is translated.

  1. How should this term be translated without losing meaning? action
  2. When should the original term be kept? action
Law Legal consequences.

Rights and duties

Inheritance, care, support.

Legal effects

Rights and duties arising.

  1. Which rights and duties follow from this relationship here? definition
  2. Which law governs it? provenance

Proof

Records and evidence.

Evidence of kinship

Documents that establish it.

  1. What documents establish this relationship? provenance
  2. When is genetic testing used, and with what consent? boundary
Privacy Family data.

Data handling

Family trees and genetic data.

Data rules

Rules on handling family data.

  1. What rules apply to storing family and genetic data? boundary
  2. Who else is affected by sharing it? boundary

Inference

Deducing relations.

Inference limits

Limits on inferring kinship.

  1. Should an agent infer a family relationship here? boundary
  2. How should such an inference be marked? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Cross-cutting context
Entry kind
thing
Plane
XCT
Domain
XCT.REL
Other names and narrower kinds
cognate, third-degree relative, may be related, half-aunt, double half-aunt, biaojie, biaomei, half-uncle, double half-uncle, child of a sibling, aunt or uncle, half-nephew, half-niece

What it is Filled

The web of social relationships between people based on descent, marriage, adoption and other culturally recognised ties, and the terms and rules that organise them.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent handle kinship as culturally defined relations with legal effects, and avoid assuming one culture terminology or family structure.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Social and legal as well as biological
  • Terminology systems differ across cultures (for example Eskimo, Hawaiian, Sudanese types)
  • Includes affinal ties by marriage and ties by adoption
  • Degree of relationship is computed differently in different legal systems

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Infer a person's parentage or relatives from genetic or other data without their consent.
  • Translate a kinship term with a false equivalent that changes who counts as family.
  • Treat one culture's family model, such as the nuclear family, as the norm for everyone.
  • Disclose adoption, paternity or other sensitive family ties of identifiable people.

Only with a human decision

  • Telling a person about a previously unknown relative or parentage.
  • Using kinship records in decisions on inheritance, custody or immigration.

May

  • Explain kinship terms and systems of a stated culture, citing ethnographic or legal sources.
  • Record family relationships that people have chosen to declare, such as in a family tree they maintain.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Kinship decides belonging, inheritance and care; misstating it can exclude people from their family.
  • Revealing hidden family ties can break families apart and expose people to harm.

Who is affected

  • Family members, including adopted and donor-conceived people
  • Communities whose kinship systems are described

Owners Filled

Steward

Nobody owns kinship; each family holds its own relationships and civil registries record legal ties.

Master systems

  • Civil registers of births, marriages and adoptions

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q223642 - registry parent class

related

  • anthropology - kinship is a core anthropological topic
  • inheritance and family law - kinship decides rights
  • genetic relatedness - biology and social kinship can diverge
  • language - kinship terms vary by language

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.kinship
  • Wikidata: Q171318 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q171318)

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Kinship diagrams and family trees
  • Terms such as aunt, cousin, biaomei, half-aunt
  • Civil records of birth, marriage and adoption
  • Not visible; represented in family trees, kinship diagrams, civil records and the terms people use for relatives.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • describe it, with kinship terms and diagrams
  • establish it legally, for inheritance, custody and immigration
  • test biological relatedness, which is not the same as kinship
  • translate kinship terms, which often have no exact equivalents

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Translating kinship terms with false equivalents
  • Inferring kinship from genetic data without consent
  • Assuming a nuclear family structure

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Civil codes on degrees of kinship and inheritance
  • Family law on adoption and parentage
  • Data protection rules on genetic and family data

Context of use required Filled

  • Organising family, inheritance, care, marriage rules and belonging.
  • consanguineal: by descent
  • affinal: by marriage
  • adoptive and fictive kinship
  • by degree: first-, second-, third-degree relatives

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q171318: kinship - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Kinship - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should kinship terms be registered per language?
  • How should legal and social kinship be distinguished in records?
  • What limits apply to agents inferring family relationships?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q171318/spec.json