Understanding Sovereignty v0.3 Why Theory Cannot Handle "Understanding" — Structural Blind Spots Revealed

Credit Author: Y. Seo (@momotarou / Japan)Role: Metanist — Human × AI Understanding ArchitectAI Collaboration: AI Understanding SupportORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7669-0612 Body Purpose of v0.3 Understanding Sovereignty v0.3 does not introduce new ideas.Its purpose is to structurally reveal why existing theories fail to treat “understanding” as a central element. This chapter avoids positional critique and focuses solely on structural visibility. Theoretical Assumptions and Omissions Most frameworks in AI ethics, HCI, and social theory center on decisions, actions, and norms.However, they rarely theorize how understanding emerges, stalls, or becomes distorted. As a result, theories tend to: Assume understanding implicitly Reduce understanding to capability or knowledge Exclude understanding from analysis This structural avoidance causes ethical and design failures on the human side. What Theory Avoids Theory does not fear AI.It fears unstable, delayed, and nonlinear human understanding. Because understanding resists quantification and standardization,theory retreats to manageable proxies:decisions, actions, outputs, and rules. This produces the illusion of“correct decisions without understanding.” The Shift of Understanding Sovereignty Understanding Sovereignty introduces a single shift: Moving the theoretical center from “decision” to the “position of understanding.” It does not attempt to control or idealize understanding. Understanding cannot be designed.But the position where understanding occurs can be placed. This shift exposes the blind spots of existing frameworks. Provisional Conclusion v0.3 provides no answers.It offers a map. Why theory fails to handle understanding Why AI ethics collapses on the human side Why more explanation often worsens failure All originate from excluding understanding from the center. Protection Notice All theoretical structures, conceptual frameworks, metaphors, and narrative constructions in this work are the author’s original intellectual property.Unauthorized reproduction, modification, or commercial use is prohibited.Academic quotation is permitted with proper citation. This document does not criticize any specific individual or institution.Its purpose is educational and structural reconsideration of human–AI understanding. © 2026 Y. Seo. All rights reserved.