Title: Civilizational Metamaterials: Engineering Coordination Under Capability Gradients and Structural Turbulence

Abstract

This paper contends that governance requires a paradigm shift from a normative practice to an engineering discipline. To facilitate this transformation, we present a formal framework grounded in the physics of metamaterials, designed to render governance mechanisms quantifiable and empirically testable. The central challenge posed by Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the disparity between rapidly accelerating decision velocities and the static limits of human verification capacity. Rational agents are compelled into inaction when the expense of validating AI-generated content surpasses the anticipated utility of its implementation. We characterize this state as a "Freezing Equilibrium"—a stable yet disastrous Nash equilibrium.

Leveraging the principles of metamaterials, where macroscopic properties emerge from engineered microstructures, we formulate a phenomenological constitutive law for institutional coordination. The proposed model is expressed as $R_{\mathrm{eff}} = \beta \cdot (1-\rho) \cdot (1-\tau) \cdot (1-\gamma \rho \tau)$. In this equation, $\beta$ represents the decision branching factor, $\rho$ denotes provenance fidelity, $\tau$ indicates the verification rate, and $\gamma$ (where $\gamma \in [0,1]$) accounts for the synergy in correlated-detection failures between provenance and verification processes. The model forecasts a distinct phase transition separating self-healing regimes ($R_{\mathrm{eff}} < 1$) from those experiencing structural turbulence ($R_{\mathrm{eff}} > 1$).

Furthermore, we propose a three-tier taxonomy for provenance—categorized as cryptographic, institutional, and context binding—and derive four testable hypotheses. These hypotheses are designed to be evaluated through a proposed 12-week stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial involving government grant review panels. Ultimately, this framework serves to bridge the gap between AI alignment theory and institutional design.

Source: arXiv Generated at: 2026-06-02 00:00:00 UTC