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Contributing to Beautiful Deep Mind

Thank you for your interest in Beautiful Deep Mind / BDM.

BDM is an early-stage experimental research and software project focused on memory, learning, attention, reflection, self-modeling, and continuity of internal context in artificial systems.

This project is currently maintained by Boring Code.

Project Status

BDM is in an early conceptual and research phase.

At this stage, contributions are welcome mainly in the form of:

  • issue reports;
  • research suggestions;
  • documentation improvements;
  • terminology improvements;
  • reading recommendations;
  • conceptual discussions;
  • small corrections;
  • carefully scoped pull requests.

Major architectural changes, large rewrites, new modules, branding changes, or changes to the project direction should be discussed before opening a pull request.

Important Legal Notice

This repository is source-available, but it is not open source.

By contributing to this repository, you agree to the terms described in LICENSE.md.

In particular, by submitting a contribution, you agree that your contribution may become part of the Beautiful Deep Mind project and that rights to the contribution are assigned or licensed to Boring Code as described in the license.

If you do not agree with these terms, do not submit contributions.

What BDM Is

BDM is an experimental cognitive architecture project.

It explores software models of:

  • memory;
  • learning;
  • attention;
  • reflection;
  • self-modeling;
  • internal context;
  • continuity across time;
  • interaction between language models and structured memory systems.

What BDM Is Not

BDM is not:

  • a medical product;
  • a clinical tool;
  • a consciousness claim;
  • a brain upload project;
  • a mind transfer project;
  • a promise to create artificial consciousness;
  • a replacement for neuroscience, psychology, medicine, or philosophy.

Please keep all contributions grounded, careful, and honest.

Contribution Rules

When contributing, please follow these rules:

  1. Use clear and precise language.
  2. Avoid exaggerated claims.
  3. Do not claim that BDM is conscious or can create consciousness.
  4. Do not make medical, psychological, neurological, or therapeutic promises.
  5. Do not add hype-driven language.
  6. Do not present speculation as fact.
  7. Clearly mark hypotheses, assumptions, limitations, and open questions.
  8. Keep documentation readable for technical readers and researchers.
  9. Respect the original direction of the project.
  10. Do not submit copyrighted material that you do not have permission to use.

Preferred Writing Style

Use language that is:

  • serious;
  • grounded;
  • research-oriented;
  • technically clear;
  • honest about limitations;
  • understandable without unnecessary jargon.

Prefer wording such as:

  • "may";
  • "could";
  • "hypothesis";
  • "conceptual model";
  • "research direction";
  • "experimental layer";
  • "possible representation";
  • "open question".

Avoid wording such as:

  • "this creates consciousness";
  • "this proves consciousness";
  • "digital soul";
  • "brain upload";
  • "mind transfer";
  • "human replacement";
  • "medical breakthrough";
  • "guaranteed cognitive improvement".

Naming Conventions

Full conventions for branches, issues, PRs, and commits are in .ai/git-conventions.md.

Branch:

feat/sqlite-long-term-store
fix/short-term-buffer-eviction-index
docs/manifesto-consciousness-framing
research/h6-memory-reconstruction
probe/continuity-cross-session

Issue title:

[feat] SQLite persistence for LongTermStore
[bug] ShortTermBuffer leaves stale index entry after eviction
[research] Design experiment for H6 — memory reconstruction
[probe] Cross-session continuity probe

PR title:

feat(memory): add SQLite persistence to LongTermStore (#12)
fix(memory): remove stale index entry on buffer eviction (#8)
docs(manifesto): reframe primary goal around consciousness research (#3)

Pull Request Process

Before opening a pull request:

  1. Check existing issues — open one first if it does not exist.
  2. Make sure your change is aligned with the current milestone (.ai/current.md).
  3. Keep the pull request small and focused — one issue per PR.
  4. All tests must pass before requesting review.
  5. PR title must reference the issue number.
  6. Use .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md for the description.

A pull request must include:

  • a title in the format above;
  • Closes #n in the description;
  • a summary of what changed and why;
  • any limitations or open questions.

Pull Request Checklist

Before submitting, confirm:

  • I have read LICENSE.md.
  • I understand that this project is source-available, not open source.
  • I agree that my contribution may be assigned or licensed to Boring Code under the terms of LICENSE.md.
  • My contribution does not include material I do not have the right to submit.
  • My contribution does not make medical claims.
  • My contribution does not claim that BDM creates, proves, uploads, transfers, or preserves consciousness.
  • My contribution is aligned with the current project direction.

Issues

Issues may be used for:

  • reporting unclear documentation;
  • suggesting reading materials;
  • proposing research questions;
  • identifying conceptual inconsistencies;
  • proposing small improvements;
  • discussing limitations or risks.

Please do not use issues for:

  • promotional content;
  • unsupported claims;
  • medical advice;
  • unrelated AI hype;
  • requests to turn BDM into a medical product;
  • claims about uploading or preserving human consciousness.

Code of Conduct

This project does not yet have a separate Code of Conduct.

Until then, contributors are expected to:

  • be respectful;
  • stay on topic;
  • argue ideas, not people;
  • avoid harassment or hostile communication;
  • keep discussions technically and conceptually useful.

Maintainer Rights

Boring Code reserves the right to:

  • accept or reject any contribution;
  • edit submitted contributions before merging;
  • close issues or pull requests that are out of scope;
  • change the project direction;
  • change contribution rules;
  • change licensing terms for future versions of the project;
  • remove content that is inaccurate, unsafe, misleading, or legally problematic.

Contact

For questions about contribution permissions, licensing, or collaboration, contact:

hello@boringcode.pl