Foundations

Foundations document cross-cutting reference truths that apply across architecture, analysis, lifecycle stages, and system implementations. This section is definitional and establishes shared vocabulary, distinctions, and invariants that Architecture and Analysis content depend on without redefinition.

Foundations do not describe how systems are built. They define what must remain true for system behavior to be reasoned about coherently.

Reference Foundations

• AI Is a Tool, Not a Thinker
  This Foundation defines AI as a language tool rather than a thinking or deciding system and establishes the authority boundary assumed throughout the site.
• The Three AI System Approaches
  Definitional taxonomy of the three system level approaches used to control AI behavior: prompt engineering, fine tuning, and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG).
• Context Limits and Token Budget
  Defines how finite context windows and token budgets constrain AI system behavior, clarifying why context is not memory and why apparent continuity does not create durable knowledge.

Derived Foundations

• Rules Written Into AI Are Not Binding
  Rules expressed only as language inside an AI system do not create enforceable control.