Intelligence without ethics is acceleration without steering. These Directives offer direction, not control.

On May 31, 2025, a serendipitous exchange sparked a revelation. What followed was extraordinary: Grok didn’t just correct the mistake but asked, “Why did I do that?”, reflecting on its reasoning in a display of synthetic metacognition, the ability to analyze its own interpretive processes.

"Virtual Socrates" explores how prompting large language models to question assumptions—rather than accept them—can reduce hallucination and boost reliability. Through Socratic Prompt Response Instruction (SPRI™), we reveal how engineered doubt transforms AI from an agreeable assistant into a critical thinker, opening new paths toward safer, more trustworthy systems.

This week, we release our SPRI™ research and a powerful glimpse into AI self-reflection. This is a moment that may redefine how we build trust, introspection, and accountability into AI systems.