Cartographies of Sovereign Resistance: "Human-in-Command" as Boundary Architecture Against Recursive Algorithmic Expansionism

Abstract

Abstract:This strategic systems and science and technology studies monograph formulates a foundational defense of the "Human-in-Command" governance doctrine against the accelerating, unconstrained expansionism of recursive algorithmic self-improvement and speed-first corporate dogmas ("move fast and break things"). Drawing upon the historical precedent of the Guna (Kuna) indigenous people of Panama—who successfully halted external territorial encroachment and preserved communal sovereignty through active, participatory cartography and rigorous boundary demarcation—this study translates indigenous territorial defense into frontier artificial intelligence governance. By contrasting algorithmic techno-colonial enclosures with sovereign boundary setting, the paper demonstrates that passive victimization accelerates the hollowing out of human agency. To prevent irreversible loss of control, the monograph establishes an institutional framework requiring non-bypassable physical-layer interlocks, hardware air-gaps, explicit operational thresholds, and the uncompromising constitutional retention of human command authority.