The Operational Coherence Framework (OCOF v1.3) : An Axiomatic Basis for Meaning-Ready Intelligence

This paper introduces the Operational Coherence Framework (OCOF) v1.3, a formal architecture specifying the structural prerequisites for semantic interpretation in intelligent systems. The framework defines interpretive intelligence not through scale or behavioral sophistication, but through five independent operational axioms: Boundary Integrity, Precision Structuring, Semantic Valuation, Policy Alignment, and Global State Continuity. Each axiom imposes a distinct informational constraint, and their joint satisfaction delineates the operational envelope within which internal states can support meaningful structure. Rather than adopting emergent or capacity-based accounts of meaning, OCOF characterizes meaning as a condition of structural readiness—a phase transition that occurs only when boundary stability, signal reliability, valuation structure, action coherence, and temporal continuity collectively reach their coherence thresholds. The framework situates mechanisms from the Free Energy Principle, Predictive Processing, Integrated Information Theory, and Control Theory within this unified constraint architecture, showing that these models operate as specialized components presupposing the structural conditions defined by OCOF. A central contribution of this work is the operational definition of Meaning-Readiness, the point at which a system’s boundary integrity and precision structure allow the reliable attribution of semantic relevance beyond syntactic or associative processing. We demonstrate the logical independence and non-circularity of the five axioms, establishing OCOF as a self-contained and falsifiable theoretical kernel. As a result, OCOF v1.3 provides a substrate-neutral foundation for evaluating interpretive capacity in biological, artificial, and hybrid systems, offering a principled basis for cognitive modeling and AGI alignment.