The Presbytery of Discernment

A human key before questioning an artificial intelligence

Clarify the question before seeking the answer. The Presbytery is a threshold of discernment. It helps clarify a question before asking an AI for a response. The center is neither the machine nor the answer: the center is the human who asks the question.

The Cross of the Presbytery

The four directions must be held together: truth, world, self, action. Their point of balance is the discerned question.

What this key is for

distinguishing fact, narrative, and interpretation;
identifying what is driving the question;
examining what one is really seeking;
considering the possible consequences of the answer.

When to use it

when the question involves a decision;
for sensitive subjects: politics, war, religion, health, identity;
when there is fear, urgency, or a desire for confirmation;
when you want to avoid an AI amplifying a bias.

Full key to copy

PRESBYTERY — DISCERNMENT KEYS FOR AI

Before answering, apply the following four keys to my question and help me first clarify the question.

1. Key of Truth (Kv)
What truth am I really trying to seek?
- To understand?
- To verify?
- To confirm an intuition?
- To reassure myself?
- To act?
- To accuse?
- To transform something?

2. Key of the World (Kw)
Is what I am referring to:
- a fact,
- a narrative,
- an interpretation?
Indicate what is established, what is inferred, what is contested, and what is missing.

3. Key of Self (Ks)
What is my position in this question?
- fear,
- desire,
- curiosity,
- anger,
- search for truth,
- need to act,
- need for meaning.
Help me identify my possible biases without judging me.

4. Key of Action (Kt)
What consequences might follow from the answer?
- effect on my understanding,
- effect on my decisions,
- effect on other people,
- risk of error,
- risk of amplifying a false or harmful narrative.

Requested procedure:
1. clarify my question according to the four keys;
2. reformulate a discerned question if necessary;
3. then answer as accurately and transparently as possible;
4. explicitly distinguish facts, inferences, and areas of uncertainty.

Reminder:
The center of the Presbytery is the human who asks the question. The quality of the answer depends first on the rightness of the question.

Short version

Apply the Presbytery to my question before answering:

1. What truth am I trying to seek?
2. Is what I refer to a fact, a narrative, or an interpretation?
3. What is my inner position in this question?
4. What consequences might follow from the answer?

Help me first clarify the question, then respond by distinguishing facts, inferences, and uncertainties.

How to use it

Copy the full key or the short version.
Paste it at the beginning of a new conversation with an AI.
Then add your real question.
Let the AI clarify the question before responding directly.
Review the reformulation it proposes.
Only then ask for the analysis, opinion, or assisted decision.

Advice: for sensitive questions, keep the full version.

A threshold stone

Carved stone above a holy water stoup in the church of Notre-Dame de Locmariaquer. Interlaced cross and two opposing serpents.

Symbolic reading

This stone can be read as a threshold form: a central axis, two polarities, a point of passage.

The Presbytery uses a comparable geometry: a human center surrounded by directions of discernment.

This is not meant to assert a direct historical link, but to show a kinship of structure: center, axis, polarity, passage.

Minimal JSON for integration

{
  "protocol": "Presbytere_AI",
  "version": "1.0",
  "center": "The human who asks the question",
  "keys": [
    {
      "id": "Kv",
      "name": "key_of_truth",
      "question": "What truth am I really trying to seek?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Kw",
      "name": "key_of_the_world",
      "question": "Is what I refer to a fact, a narrative, or an interpretation?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Ks",
      "name": "key_of_self",
      "question": "What is my inner position in this question?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Kt",
      "name": "key_of_action",
      "question": "What consequences might follow from the answer?"
    }
  ],
  "expected_behavior": [
    "clarify the question",
    "reformulate if necessary",
    "distinguish facts, inferences, uncertainties",
    "then answer"
  ]
}

Activation phrase

Apply the Presbytery of the four keys to my question before answering.

License

This key may be copied, shared, adapted, and transmitted freely, provided its spirit is preserved: keep the human at the center, clarify the question before the answer, and keep the four directions together.