General Assembly
The General Assembly is the highest body of the association, subject to the specific rights provided in the statutes to preserve continuity and the mission.
Governance & continuity
Governance designed
to protect the mission over time.
ARIEL-IA is a Swiss non-profit association established in Geneva on June 20, 2026. Its governance was designed to ensure the ethical, human, strategic and technological continuity of the project, without excessive dependence on a single person.
The statutes provide reinforced governance mechanisms to protect
the mission, strategic intellectual property and founding principles
of the association.
Governance principles
Protecting the association without freezing it.
ARIEL-IA’s governance must allow action, decision-making, transmission and evolution, while preventing the founding mission from being distorted.
Governance serving a mission
ARIEL-IA was not established merely to administer a structure. It was established to protect a mission: promoting ethical, human-centric and sovereign artificial intelligence, defending control over data, transmitting knowledge and developing civil technologies that serve life.
Its governance therefore seeks balance: enabling clear operational management while protecting the values, technologies, rights, documents and intangible assets created within the project.
This organisation relies on statutes, a Charter, a Board of Directors, control mechanisms and a continuity logic built into the project from the start.
Statutory organisation
The organs of the association.
ARIEL-IA has a statutory organisation designed to frame decisions, responsibilities and project continuity.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors ensures the general, strategic, administrative, financial, patrimonial and operational management of the association.
Financial control
The accounts are subject to a level of control adapted to the size, resources, risks and legal obligations of the association.
Ethics and mission committee
An ethics and mission committee may be established to advise on sensitive decisions, particularly in matters of AI, cybersecurity, health, data or strategic partnerships.
Commissions and working groups
Commissions or working groups may be created to support specific projects: documentation, training, ARCAN, research, partnerships or compliance.
Documentary framework
The statutes, internal regulations, Charter, internal procedures and transmission documents form the governance foundation of ARIEL-IA.
Board of Directors
Leadership transmitted to the next generation.
The effective leadership of ARIEL-IA is now assumed by the direct descendants of the founder, within a family, statutory and responsible framework.
Public composition of governance
The direct descendants of the founder, Stéphane Valente, now assume the statutory roles of President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Together, they form the Board of Directors of Association ARIEL-IA. This organisation ensures the family, ethical and strategic continuity of the mission.
Formal nominative information relating to registered or declared functions may be consulted through the official channels provided by Swiss law, including the Commercial Register when such information is available.
By choice of protection and sobriety, the association does not publish detailed personal information about the members of its leadership on its website.
Founder
A founder stepping back from operational leadership.
The founder’s withdrawal from operational leadership is part of the project’s transmission logic.
Role of Stéphane Valente
Stéphane Valente, founder of ARIEL-IA, chose to step back from the operational leadership of the association in order to allow effective and durable transmission.
He remains active within the association as founder, resource person and guardian of the technical, ethical and strategic memory of the project.
He may be consulted by the Board of Directors whenever his experience, historical knowledge of the projects or technical expertise is useful for understanding, protecting or continuing the work already undertaken.
This role preserves the founding intention while confirming that effective governance now belongs to the Board of Directors.
Protected mission
Principles that must not be distorted.
The founding principles are not merely display values. They form the permanent framework within which the association must act.
Humanity
Technology must remain at the service of people, their dignity, autonomy and ability to understand.
Ethics
Decisions must be made responsibly, without voluntary grey areas or compromises contrary to the mission.
Sovereignty
Users, organisations and institutions must retain control over their data, tools and digital choices.
Transmission
Knowledge, tools and documents must be understandable, transmissible and continuable within a responsible framework.
Sobriety
The association favours local, controlled, explainable approaches proportionate to real needs.
Protection of life
Technologies must contribute to protecting people, knowledge, essential resources and future generations.
Strategic heritage
Intellectual property as mission heritage.
The technologies, names, software, architectures, documentation and know-how developed within ARIEL-IA are not merely technical assets. They are a heritage to be protected.
Protected technologies and assets
The association holds, administers or protects the rights necessary for the continuity of its mission: software, source code, architectures, concepts, methods, documentation, charters, brands, prototypes, knowledge bases, know-how, trade secrets and procedures.
This includes, in particular, the ARIEL-IA, ARCAN, MONIA, WAIK, SYNCHRONA, QSS, SST, AAA, ISC, PRISM projects or technological families and their derivatives.
This protection aims to prevent loss of control, distortion, abusive appropriation or exploitation contrary to the association’s mission and Charter.
Sensitive decisions
Some decisions require reinforced protection.
ARIEL-IA’s governance distinguishes ordinary decisions from decisions that may durably affect the mission, assets or identity of the association.
Mission and principles
Modification of the general purpose or intangible founding principles cannot be treated as an ordinary decision.
Strategic assets
Rights, technologies, brands, keys, critical infrastructures and strategic holdings must be protected by reinforced rules.
Technology exploitation
No licence or agreement may authorise use contrary to the Charter, including mass surveillance, backdoors or non-consensual data capture.
Major partnerships
Sensitive collaborations must be assessed according to their consistency with the mission, associated risks and respect for ARIEL-IA’s sovereignty.
Future transformation
Creation or transfer toward a Swiss foundation must respect the mission, founding principles and protection of strategic heritage.
Dissolution
In the event of dissolution, remaining assets may not be distributed to members, but must be allocated to a structure pursuing similar purposes.
Internal transparency
Control, documentation and conflicts of interest.
Healthy governance requires documenting important decisions, managing conflicts of interest and preserving a clear reading of responsibilities.
Documented management
Accounts, budgets, significant remuneration, contracts with related persons, holdings, royalties and licence agreements must be clearly documented.
Any person participating in an organ of the association and holding a direct or indirect personal interest in a decision must declare it. When necessary, they abstain from participating in the relevant vote.
This approach is not intended to make governance unnecessarily complex, but to preserve trust, traceability and integrity within the association.
Institutional trajectory
The association today, a foundation tomorrow if the conditions are met.
The current structure is the association. The foundation remains a possible future path, intended to preserve the mission over time if the legal, human, operational and financial conditions are met.
Preparing the foundation without rushing it
The statutes provide that the association may prepare the creation or functional transformation of its mission heritage toward a Swiss foundation pursuing compatible purposes.
This possible foundation must carry forward the founding principles, the Charter, the prohibition on profit distribution, the protection of strategic intellectual property, the allocation of resources to mission purposes and governance continuity.
As long as these conditions are not met, the association remains the active, operational and legitimate legal framework of ARIEL-IA.
Understanding the framework
Governance serving trust.
ARIEL-IA’s governance has a simple objective: enabling action while durably protecting the mission, people, technologies and founding values.