notes_on_fw_sw_alignment.md
(draft — alignment guidance)
Notes on FW/SW Alignment#
Firmware and software alignment differs from hardware alignment.
Instead of physical stability, we focus on:
1. Transparency of Behavior#
Aligned FW/SW is:
- deterministic
- documented
- predictable
- easy to inspect
Opaque or adaptive behavior requires containment.
2. Inference Layers#
Each inference step increases regime fragility.
Aligned systems minimize:
- hidden assumptions
- black‑box transformations
- multi‑stage pipelines
3. Drift & Versioning#
Software drifts through:
- updates
- library changes
- OS patches
- cloud‑side modifications
Aligned systems document version boundaries clearly.
4. Substrate Sensitivity#
FW/SW becomes fragile when behavior depends on:
- sample composition
- environmental conditions
- hardware quirks
- calibration history
Aligned systems state these dependencies explicitly.
5. Regime Behavior#
- pos‑regime: stable algorithms, predictable outputs
- Q‑regime: assumption‑heavy or adaptive behavior
- neg‑regime: fragile, nonlinear, or unstable pipelines
These notes help contributors classify new FW/SW examples consistently.