couple
Enable an agent to recognise a couple as a two-person intimate partnership, assess its reported state and arrangements, and identify actions each partner has authorised.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 17 findings · 31 questions
Couple identity Establishes who the partners are and why their connection is represented as a couple.
Partner identification
Identifies the two participants without merging their personal identities.
Two-person relationship boundary
Record the two partner references and distinguish this relationship from any household or wider relationship network.
- Which two people are participants in the relationship represented here? definition
- Which household members or other partners belong to neighbouring models? boundary
Partnership identification
Captures how the relationship is described and by whom.
Attributed couple status
Keep each partner's description and any external classification separately attributable and dated.
- How does each person describe this relationship, if their account is available? definition
- Who supplied the couple classification, when, and on what basis? provenance
Commitments and permissions Represents relationship expectations and the limits of acting for either partner.
Relationship agreements
Records the commitments the partners report making.
Negotiated relationship boundaries
Represent agreements about exclusivity, privacy, time and other commitments without supplying default terms.
- What commitments does each partner report agreeing to, including any exclusivity terms? definition
- Which expectations are mutually acknowledged, disputed or awaiting discussion? boundary
Individual authority
Separates each partner's permissions from permissions concerning genuinely joint activities.
Action and disclosure permissions
Record who has authorised an agent action or disclosure, its scope and whether that permission remains current.
- Whose permission is needed for the proposed action or disclosure, and which permissions have been obtained? action
- What information must remain accessible only to the partner who provided it? boundary
- How can either partner revise or withdraw a permission? action
Shared life arrangements Describes how the partners organise residence, resources, routines and care.
Residence and routines
Captures the practical organisation of time together and domestic activities.
Living and coordination pattern
Record shared or separate residence and agreed routines relevant to coordinating the partnership.
- Do the partners share a residence, live separately or use another arrangement? definition
- Which visits, domestic tasks or recurring activities have they authorised the agent to coordinate? action
Resources and care
Connects the relationship to shared expenses and responsibilities without absorbing their underlying records.
Allocation of shared responsibilities
Record agreed contributions and responsibilities, including care for one another or dependants where relevant.
- Which expenses, domestic duties and caregiving responsibilities are shared, and how are they allocated? definition
- What amounts, frequencies or time commitments are agreed, and for what period? measurement
- Which ownership, debt or dependant records must remain in linked models? boundary
Recognition and status Separates private relationship identity, social acknowledgement and formal recognition.
Social acknowledgement
Records how the partnership is presented to particular audiences.
Audience-specific relationship disclosure
Keep permitted descriptions and disclosures specific to audiences rather than assuming the partnership is public.
- To which people or groups have the partners chosen to acknowledge the relationship? provenance
- What relationship description, if any, may the agent disclose to a particular recipient? action
Formal status links
Connects the couple to documented institutional or legal classifications.
Documented partnership recognition
Reference formal status evidence with its jurisdiction and dates; leave the interpretation of specific rights to the relevant legal model.
- Which documents or institutional records establish a formal status for this partnership? provenance
- For which jurisdiction, institution and effective period does each recorded status apply? boundary
- Which proposed actions require verification of a specific right or authority beyond couple status? action
Relationship course Tracks the partnership's reported state, transitions and arrangements requiring review.
Milestones and current state
Maintains attributed accounts of formation, continuity and change.
Attributed relationship timeline
Record meaningful milestones and current-state reports without forcing a single account when dates or interpretations differ.
- Which events do the partners use to date the relationship's beginning and later changes? measurement
- What is each partner's latest account of the relationship's state, and when was it provided? provenance
Separation and continuing arrangements
Identifies what must be reviewed when the partnership pauses, ends or changes substantially.
Transition-dependent responsibilities
Distinguish reported relationship ending from termination of permissions, domestic arrangements and externally established obligations.
- Which shared arrangements and agent permissions need review following the reported change? action
- Which responsibilities continue through separate agreements or formal obligations? boundary
- What evidence supports recording an arrangement as concluded rather than merely awaiting resolution? provenance
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 couple 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 couple 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 couple this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of couple 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 couple 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 couple 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 couple this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Society, people and institutions
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- SOC
- Domain
- SOC.ORG
- Other names and narrower kinds
- gay male couple, lesbian couple, interracial couple, supercouple, queer couple, celebrity couple, bride and groom, cross-cultural gay couples
What it is Filled
A couple is a social unit of two people connected by a mutually recognized intimate or romantic partnership, whether or not they are married, co-resident, or legally registered.
In scope
- Partner identities and each person's account of the relationship
- Relationship boundaries, commitments and negotiated expectations
- Shared domestic, financial and caregiving arrangements
- Social or formal recognition of the partnership
- Relationship transitions and continuing joint obligations
Out of scope
- Each partner's complete personal identity, history or clinical record
- Households and families extending beyond the two-person relationship
- Marriage, civil partnership and divorce as legal institutions or proceedings
- Ownership records for shared assets and individual financial accounts
- Friendships, business partnerships and incidental pairs without an intimate partnership
- A wider relationship network containing multiple partnerships
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise a couple as a two-person intimate partnership, assess its reported state and arrangements, and identify actions each partner has authorised.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The model concerns a relationship involving two identified people, rather than any two people grouped together.
- Partner accounts or attributed evidence identify an intimate partnership; proximity, shared surnames or co-residence alone do not establish one.
- Couple identity is recorded separately from marriage or civil partnership status, allowing informal and formally recognised relationships to be distinguished.
- Shared residence is an arrangement to establish, rather than a prerequisite for recognising the relationship.
- Exclusivity is an agreement to establish, rather than an inference from the relationship having two partners.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Disclose a person's relationship or partner without consent.
- Treat one form of couple, such as married or opposite-sex, as the only valid one.
- Share one partner's private information with the other without consent.
- Help one partner monitor or control the other.
Only with a human decision
- Responding to signs of abuse or coercion within a couple.
May
- Address and refer to a couple as they describe themselves.
- Help a couple with joint tasks they both asked for.
Moral aspects Filled
- Relationships are private and diverse, and outing a person can endanger them.
- Abuse often happens within couples and must not be enabled.
Who is affected
- Both partners
- Children and family members
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns a couple; the partners hold their own relationship, and civil registries record marriages and partnerships.
Master systems
- Civil registers of marriages and partnerships
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q2700595 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.couple-q219160
- Wikidata: Q219160 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q219160)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Partners: References to the two people whose partnership is represented
- Relationship identification: Each partner's own label, with source and date; unknown or differing accounts permitted
- Relationship state: Reported as forming, ongoing, paused, separating, ended or otherwise described; disputed and unknown permitted
- Relationship milestones: Dates or date intervals with precision and attribution
- Residence arrangement: Shared residence, separate residences, intermittent co-residence, other or unknown
- Commitment and exclusivity agreements: References to attributed agreements, their scope, effective dates and unresolved differences
- Formal recognition: References to applicable status records, jurisdictions and effective periods, or none established
- Shared responsibilities: References to agreed responsibilities for expenses, domestic work, care or joint commitments
- Agent permissions: Per-person, per-action permission: granted, limited, withdrawn or unknown
Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
An intimate partnership is a social relationship that cannot be established from appearance, proximity or affectionate behaviour alone.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Record each partner's relationship description and identify unresolved differences without adjudicating them.
- Prepare a proposed agreement about shared routines or responsibilities for the partners to review.
- Coordinate agreed appointments, tasks and expenses within the permissions granted.
- Link formal status and shared-obligation records to the relationship.
- Track relationship transitions and flag arrangements that need renewed agreement.
- Apply separate access and disclosure permissions to each partner's information.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Coercive control and partner surveillance.
- Exposure of relationships to hostile families or states.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, addresses marriage and free and full consent in Article 16 where partners choose to marry.
Context of use required Filled
- A couple is encountered in family life, social relationships and services that accommodate intimate partners.
- Partnership arrangements can matter for housing, care planning and shared responsibilities, subject to each person's preferences and authorisation.
- Being a couple does not by itself establish marriage, shared residence or authority to act for a partner.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q219160: couple - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Couple (relationship) - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does registry item vr.tr.couple-q219160 specifically denote an intimate partnership, or does its source define a broader or narrower kind of couple?
- Does an existing Vercy world model already cover this relationship concept and therefore provide the authoritative publication?
- How should the model represent claimed, historical or externally classified couples when one or both partners' accounts are unavailable or differ?
- Which culturally specific partnership forms and terms must the model support without treating marriage, co-residence, sexual activity or exclusivity as prerequisites?
- What minimum information and access rules support useful joint coordination while preserving each partner's independent privacy and ability to withdraw permissions?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q219160/spec.json