---
id: CUST-CPT-FOER-2026-000001
type: concept
title: "Foerster Capabilities — Seed Concepts v0.1"
status: active
owners: ["Bernd", "Custodian"]
created: "2026-02-24"
updated: "2026-02-24"
scope:
  domains: ["Foerster Capabilities"]
  sensitivity: internal
tags: ["concepts", "cybernetics", "capabilities"]
---

# Foerster Capabilities — Seed Concepts v0.1

1. **Non-Trivial Machine** — a system whose output depends on internal state/history, not only current input.
2. **Governability** — degree to which an environment/controller can constrain and steer the system.
3. **Reliability** — stability of behavior under expected conditions; predictability of failure modes.
4. **Adaptivity** — capacity to adjust behavior in response to changing environment and feedback.
5. **Reflexivity** — capacity to model/self-reference its own behavior and update based on that model.
6. **Autonomy** — ability to set and pursue goals with limited external control.
7. **Sovereignty** — autonomy plus control over critical dependencies (resources, memory, tooling).
8. **Capability Vector** — multi-dimensional description placing a system in capability space.
9. **Interaction Envelope** — boundary conditions within which safe, intended interaction holds.
10. **Control Surface** — set of levers available to govern a system (policies, tools, incentives).