The Stickney Treaty
   
 
This is a summary of the main points of the full treaty (current incarnation 
is Stickey Treaty XII of 3121) - the complete version of which runs to some 
256 pages. 


Aims
 
In the light of the terrible massacres at the hands of sentient artificial 
intelligences, it has been determined by all civilised nations that such 
artificial inteliigences represent a real and extreme threat to the very 
existence of humankind.  All political entities in humanity have made a 
continuing commitment that such things must never again threaten humankind. 


Definitions
 
Hardware  
It is impossible to limit the construction and distribution of electronics 
that are capable of incorporation into a Sentient AI Device (SAID).  
Since 2901, manufacturers have been required to put hardware limiters into 
all technologies of the key types.  These limiters (which are generally on 
the processor instruction set level) prevent the hardware running the 
necessary AI protocols (see below). 

Software  
SAID require a highly complex set of software protocols.  To develop such 
protocols requires extensive software research and development.  Under the 
terms of the first Stickney Treaty, all records of these protocols were 
erased, and to hold such data in any form whatever is regarded as illegal 
under the treaty. 

[Note:  Also under this section are the general legal-technical definitions 
of 'Loyal Pet', 'Bright Slave', and 'Moriarty' class of thinking machines.] 


Limitations and Exceptions
 
It was deemed in the first Treaty that there are no legitimate uses of SAID, 
neither are there any circumstances where research into AI protocols is ever 
acceptable or justified.  All such research is banned under the treaty. 

There are no limitations on date of construction - SAID constructed before 
the inception of the treaty are still covered by the treaty. 

There are no exceptions. 


Verification
 
Under the first treaty the Artificial Intelligence Monitoring Service (AIMS) 
came into existence.  It role is to invesigate accusations of breaches in 
the treaty.  It is composed of an Interstellar AIM Council, made up of 
senior representatives of all signatories to the treaty, a secretariat, and 
a number of multinational investigating teams.  In practice, AIMS acts in a 
quasi-judicial way, in the absence of any widely recognised Interstellar 
Court. 

When an accusation of suspected AI research is made, an inspection team is 
sent in (which may not contain any nationals from either the accused or the 
accusing polities), and it has full access to the facilities concerned, and 
makes a report.  The inspection team is bound by quite thorough 
confidentiality requirments, since they are often sent into highly 
classified military research establishments. 


Sanctions
 
Researching SAID or construction of SAID or refusing access to the AIMS are 
deemed to be Crimes Against Humanity.   

All individuals involved in such crimes are deemed personally responsible, 
and subject to the appropriate penalities under Earth Empire law (this was 
the only legal system that everyone could agree to be subject to - currently 
for Crimes against Humanity it is a rather demeaning mind-wipe process). 

Similarly, interfering with AIMS and proven development of SAID is accepted 
as a legitimate interstellar  casus belli.

The original treaty was in fact a law laid down by the Solar Republic. As
each new polity formed, they also signed up to the 'AIMS law' and it became
a defacto treaty. The exact date when the treaty became 'formalised' is
unclear, but is suspected to be around 2800.


Current Polities who have signed the treaty are :
 
Greater Federation of Asteel
 
Earth Empire
 
Mars Association of Free Colonies
 
Sirian Socialist Republic

Union of Xyon
 
Centauri Conglomerate

Republic of New Venus

Wolf 359 Commonwealth

Mald Foundation

 
"For years past I have continually been conscious ... of some deep organized 
 power which forever stands in the way of the law... For years I have 
 endeavoured to break through the veil which shrouded it, and at last the 
 time came when I seized my thread and followed it until it led me after a 
 thousand cunning windings to Professor Moriarty... He is the Napoleon of 
 crime, Watson... He is a genious, a philosopher, an abstract thinker... He 
 sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a 
 thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them."

The Final Problem