This paper proposes a second-edition expansion of the “Data as Elemental Infrastructure” framework by reframing Data not merely as storage, computation, or representation, but as a coherence substrate: a relational web that binds matter, observers, and events into stable continuity across time and scale. The framework introduces Data as a cognitive rendering layer that compresses high-dimensional reality into human-operational form, and argues that manipulation of this layer becomes a direct lever of governance. The paper defines key systemic risks—Data Smog, Reality Drift, and Contestability Horizons—and introduces Filter Integrity Protocols as a blueprint for building transparent, contestable, and resilient data-governed societies. This version introduces the Coherence Expansion Paradox and an Integrity Leverage cascade model, formalizing how coherence can collapse under data growth unless contestability and integrity scale with infrastructure.
Andrew Ybarra Jr. (Thu,) studied this question.