Project Janus: Why I'm Open-Sourcing the Blueprint for Modeling Whole Human Beings

Published: November 19, 2025

How I designed the most comprehensive computational framework for human nature ever attempted—and why I am releasing it as a gift to the open-source community.

The question that started everything

Yesterday, I found myself asking: What would it take to model human beings in their full complexity? Not just as thinking machines or behavioral algorithms, but as integrated wholes—biological organisms with spiritual yearnings, emotional beings who construct meaning, social creatures with developmental trajectories.

The result is Project Janus—a complete theoretical and architectural framework for computational modeling of human nature across all domains of experience.

Today, I am unveiling the complete architectural blueprint as an open-source standard. I believe this vision is too important to remain locked away, and too expansive to be constrained by a single developer or company.

The fragmentation problem

Current approaches to modeling humans are fundamentally broken because they are fragmented:

AI research focuses on narrow cognitive abilities and treats humans as utility maximizers
Psychology studies the mind while ignoring embodiment and meaning
Neuroscience maps neural circuits but misses why we need purpose to stay alive
Economics assumes rational actors disconnected from emotions and values
Spiritual traditions address meaning but lack computational rigor

We have brilliant pieces scattered across disciplines, but no integrated whole. This leads to AI systems that cannot truly align with human values, mental health approaches that treat symptoms rather than people, and organizations that optimize for productivity while destroying the human capacity for flourishing.

What Project Janus actually is

I haven’t built the software yet. I have built something that must come first: the complete architectural blueprint with detailed specifications.

The six-domain architecture

The framework models human experience across six interconnected domains:

Biological - Physical substrate: neuroscience, physiology, embodied cognition, biological constraints
Cognitive - Mental architecture: reasoning, memory, belief systems, attention, meta-cognition
Emotional - Affective intelligence: feelings, moods, regulation, emotional wisdom
Behavioral - Action systems: habits, choices, expression, values-behavior alignment
Social - Relational fabric: relationships, cultural norms, collective intelligence, identity formation
Spiritual/Existential - Meaning dimension: purpose, values, self-transcendence, wisdom development

The real innovation: integration modules

What sets Project Janus apart isn’t the domains themselves—it’s how they interact through sophisticated bridge interfaces:

Bio-cognitive interfaces - How body states shape thinking (stress affecting reasoning, interoception informing decisions)
Emotion-decision loops - How feelings provide essential information for wise choices
Values-behavior alignment - Tracking integrity, moral development, and the intention-action gap
Meaning crisis response - Modeling how we rebuild when narratives collapse
Developmental trajectories - Modeling growth through predictable stages of increasing complexity (integrated with Spiral Dynamics)

This integration architecture is what makes the model actually work like a human rather than like six separate systems running in parallel.

What makes this different

Unlike traditional cognitive architectures (ACT-R, SOAR, CLARION):

Meaning-making is central, not peripheral - humans are meaning-makers, not just information processors
Developmental evolution is built in - we model how people change qualitatively over time
Spiritual/existential domain is first-class - purpose and transcendence aren’t afterthoughts
Values drive behavior as much as goals or rewards

This is the first framework that takes seriously what Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and Abraham Maslow knew: that humans need meaning as much as they need food.

The Blueprint is Ready

I have created the foundational assets necessary to begin construction:

Complete Documentation (25+ detailed specification documents)

Comprehensive theoretical framework and philosophical foundations
Technical architectures for all six domains with implementation specifications
Detailed integration module designs with data flow specifications
Psychological metrics framework for validation
Ethical guidelines for responsible development and deployment

Implementation roadmap

4-phase development plan spanning 36 months
Resource requirements and team composition
Risk mitigation strategies

You can explore the full specification at: https://github.com/BjornKennethHolmstrom/ProjectJanus

Why I am releasing this as a Public Good

This requires a multi-year effort by a team with expertise spanning computational modeling, neuroscience, psychology, AI development, and systems engineering.

I have designed the architecture and mapped the territory. The intellectual foundation is laid. However, I am not the one to build the vehicle or captain the ship.

I believe that for this project to reach its potential, it needs to be owned by the community, not a single founder. By releasing these blueprints as an open standard, I am inviting capable teams to take this vision and run with it.

Open source philosophy and governance

I am releasing the Project Janus specifications under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.

This choice is intentional and strategic:

Universal Access: Anyone can use, adapt, or build upon this work, even for commercial purposes.
Protective Freedom (ShareAlike): Any derivative works or improvements made to these blueprints must be released under the same open license.

This ensures that no single entity can enclose the “DNA” of human modeling. If a tech giant uses these blueprints to build a superior model, they must share their architectural improvements back to the consortium.

I encourage any implementation team to:

Maintain the ethical framework as foundational
Include diverse perspectives in development and governance
Prioritize applications that support human flourishing

My Role: Advisor and Steward

While I am stepping back from the operational execution, I remain deeply committed to the vision. I am available to serve as a Steward of the Vision. I look forward to guiding the philosophical alignment and acting as a steward for the project’s values—while leaving the heavy lifting of implementation and management to those with the resources and mandate to execute.

What is needed to build this

To bring Project Janus to life, the community will need to assemble a consortium. Based on my analysis, a serious attempt would require:

Phase 1 (Foundation): 6 months, 3-5 researchers ($150-250K)
Phase 2 (Full System): 6 months, 8-12 specialists ($500-750K)
Phase 3 (Applications): 12 months, 20-30 team members ($2-3M)

This is an ideal initiative for:

Research institutions advancing theoretical frameworks
AI labs seeking genuinely human-aligned systems
Mental health organizations exploring holistic approaches
Grant-makers and Funders looking for high-impact open-source infrastructure

The Future of Human Modeling

We are at a unique inflection point where computational power and psychological insight can converge. Project Janus is the map for that convergence.

The blueprint is ready. The time is right. The need is urgent.

Let’s build technologies worthy of human beings.

Contact and Collaboration

Write me directly: Use the contact page or email me
GitHub: https://github.com/BjornKennethHolmstrom/ProjectJanus

The future of human-aligned technology starts with better models of what humans actually are. Project Janus offers that model. Now we need the builders.