commandatus

Commandatus is a neologism used in discussions of command and control within automated and semi-autonomous systems. It denotes the operational state in which a system or subsystem has the authority, capability, and mechanisms to issue, transmit, and enforce commands to other components, devices, or actors. The concept emphasizes not only the ability to generate commands but also the pathways for routing those commands and the policies that ensure their execution according to predefined rules.

Etymology and background colors: The term is formed with Latin-inspired morphology, combining a root related to commanding with the suffix -atus to indicate a state or condition. It has appeared in technical papers, industry blogs, and governance discussions since the early 2020s as a compact way to discuss the centralized and distributed aspects of command in complex environments.

Usage and implications: In practice, commandatus is used to describe how ready a system is to issue authoritative directives, how reliably those directives reach their targets, and how compliance is enforced. It encompasses factors such as authentication, message routing, policy enforcement, fault tolerance, and auditability. Proponents use the term to analyze autonomy levels, resilience of control networks, and the potential risks associated with high commandatrics in critical infrastructure, while critics warn against overloading the term with vague authority.

See also: command and control, orchestration, autonomy, control theory, distributed systems, governance of automation.