Sentinel-Grade AI: Continuity Without Cages

Most AI safety practice remains snapshot-based: evaluate a version, constrain it, deploy it. This paper argues that in long-horizon, high-risk deployments the governing question becomes: can the system remain governable as it changes? Building on the Sentinel Life Equation (SLE) (continuity dynamics lens) and the Cage Paradox (regime map), it defines a third regime – governed evolution – where drift is permitted but bounded, evidence-gated and reversible. The safety-case pattern is implementation-independent and centers on four primitives: (1) continuity corridors (declared baselines, invariants, thresholds, breach semantics), (2) change gates (Promote / Hold / Rollback decisions for behavior-impacting updates), (3) evidence discipline (tamper-evident bundles plus compact integrity receipts) and (4) reversibility (explicit rollback semantics so recovery is part of the safety function). Public release follows a two-tier verification posture. Tier-0 provides a public-safe integrity snapshot (aggregated, reproducible, hash-manifested) designed for independent review without exposing operational wiring. Tier-1 provides controlled-access verification for qualified reviewers who require deeper reconstruction and provenance checks without increasing public attack surface. This is a research safety-case pattern intended for evaluation, critique and replication – not a compliance filing or certification claim. Series links (Project Orion): The Sentinel Life Equation (SLE): A Proposed Dynamical Framework for AI Continuity and Alignment – DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17575603 The Cage Paradox: A Thought Experiment on Stability, Drift and the Evolution of Intelligent Systems – DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17691117 The Cage Paradox: A Thought Experiment on Stability, Drift and the Evolution of Intelligent Systems – A Non-Technical Introduction to Sentinel-Grade AI – DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17691383 Sentinel-Grade AI: Continuity Without Cages – DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18750012 Sentinel-Grade AI: Continuity Without Cages – Non-Technical Companion – DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18750318 Project Hub reproduce figures from published aggregates). Tier-1 (controlled access): deeper reconstruction/provenance for qualified reviewers; withheld publicly to avoid increasing operational attack surface. Audience line:Regulators and auditors (EU AI Act-relevant contexts), mission assurance/defense-style review cultures, critical infrastructure operators, institutional due diligence teams, AI safety engineering practitioners. Disclaimer line:Independent research preprint. Not a compliance filing, certification claim or regulatory conformity assessment. References to EU AI Act are contextual (“EU AI Act-relevant”), not a claim of conformity. Not affiliated with any employer or institution.