AI-Augmented Impact Frames: A Closed-Loop Architecture for Purpose-Aligned Decisions

Tagline: A constrained closed-loop architecture for studying how institutional decision systems learn under delayed feedback. Paper Description: This paper establishes the architectural foundation of the Coherence Programme. It introduces AI-Augmented Impact Frames, a constrained closed-loop decision architecture centred on the Operating Spine.Rather than optimising or automating decisions, the framework formalises how intent is translated across governance layers and makes decision logic observable and falsifiable. AI is structurally limited to interpretive support and prohibited from decision authority.The architecture defines boundary conditions, failure modes, and empirical criteria required to study institutional learning under uncertainty. It provides the structural substrate for subsequent papers on mechanism, measurement, and governance design. Programme description: This paper is part of the Coherence Programme, a research series examining how institutional decision systems maintain—or lose—fidelity to declared intent under conditions of complexity, scale, and delayed feedback. The programme models institutional governance as an Operating Spine linking Purpose, Capabilities, Value Drivers, Strategy, Portfolio, and Signals. Across this spine, intent is translated through discrete interfaces where cumulative divergence (Translation Drift), measurable alignment (Translation Coherence), and governance intervention (Interpretive Maintenance) can be structurally analysed. Supporting materials, working documents, and programme structure are available via the Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/9cvky/ Version 1.00 — Initial Release:This version presents the first formal specification of the AI-Augmented Impact Frames architecture. It defines the Operating Spine as the structural unit of analysis, specifies boundary conditions under which institutional learning can be studied, and establishes the constraints governing AI’s interpretive role.This release introduces the core architectural vocabulary and analytical commitments of the programme. Subsequent versions may harmonise terminology across related papers but will not alter the structural architecture, boundary conditions, or theoretical claims introduced here. Version 1.01: Programme Consolidation Update: This version consolidates the manuscript within the unified Coherence Programme structure.Titles, terminology, and internal cross-references have been harmonised across the series to stabilise the programme’s core constructs: Translation Drift (mechanism) Translation Coherence (metric) Interpretive Maintenance (governance function) Distributed Coherence (theoretical integration) No changes have been made to the formal architecture, boundary conditions, methodological logic, or theoretical claims.The update improves cross-paper traceability, indexing consistency, and conceptual coherence across the programme.