AI AS A DEPENDENCY LAYER — A WHOLE-SYSTEM FIELD MAP

Summary

A field map rather than a verdict, tracing AI as a growing dependency layer rather than only a product. It asks whether evidence, governance, technical control, public legitimacy, adaptation, and human accountability are keeping pace.

What it maps

Infrastructure, dependency, policy, labour, finance, trust, security, capability, maturity, reversibility, auditability, public risk, and human decision authority. The map keeps the interaction between infrastructure and dependency visible rather than treating either as an isolated variable.

Why it matters

Dependencies become hardest to govern after they disappear into ordinary infrastructure. Making them visible early supports bounded adoption, meaningful exits, and responsibility before private speed becomes public risk. It gives readers a firmer basis for handling infrastructure and dependency responsibly.