Phronos
Dispatches Library Methods Instruments
Updates
GOV-002 Legal
Published
v1.0 January 13, 2026

Terms of Service

Epochal Health Solutions LLC, doing business as Phronos

Agreement

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and participation in instruments, methods, and services provided through phronos.org and associated platforms (collectively, "Phronos"). By accessing or using any Phronos instrument, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

Phronos is operated by Epochal Health Solutions LLC, a California limited liability company ("we," "us," or "our").

If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use our instruments.

Nature of the Service

Phronos is a cognitive research platform. Our instruments generate structured observations of cognition—what we call "telemetry." This telemetry serves two purposes: to provide you with insight into your own thinking patterns, and to contribute (with your consent) to a collective understanding of human cognition.

You are a participant, not a user. A user consumes a product. A participant contributes to an endeavor. This distinction carries mutual obligation: we owe you transparency about how your data is used, clarity about what our instruments measure, and honesty about our limitations. You, in turn, engage with the understanding that your participation advances research beyond yourself.

What Phronos Is Not

Phronos does not provide medical, psychological, therapeutic, or diagnostic services. Our instruments are research tools designed to generate observations about cognitive patterns. They are not validated clinical assessments, and their outputs do not constitute diagnoses, treatment recommendations, or professional advice of any kind.

Specifically:

  • Instrument results (including "divergence" and "convergence" scores) reflect patterns in semantic associations. They do not measure intelligence, mental health status, cognitive impairment, or fitness for any purpose.
  • Phronos instruments are not substitutes for evaluation by qualified healthcare professionals, psychologists, or psychiatrists.
  • If you have concerns about your cognitive health, mental health, or psychological wellbeing, consult a licensed professional.
  • Do not make medical, employment, educational, or legal decisions based on Phronos instrument results.

We disclaim all liability for decisions made in reliance on instrument outputs.

Eligibility

Phronos instruments are designed for individuals aged 13 and older. By using our instruments, you represent that you are at least 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect data from individuals under 13.

The INS-001 Instrument Family: Semantic Cartography

INS-001 measures two dimensions of cognition:

Divergence quantifies how far your semantic associations venture from statistically predictable paths. Higher divergence indicates unexpected conceptual connections.

Convergence quantifies how effectively your associations communicate meaning to others—specifically, whether an AI system can reconstruct your target word from your clues. Higher convergence indicates more effective encoding of semantic information.

During the assessment, you provide a target word and five one-word association clues. These inputs are processed to generate your scores. The instrument takes approximately five minutes.

Consent and Data Processing

Before beginning any instrument, you will be asked to provide explicit consent to data processing. This consent is required for participation.

By consenting, you agree that:

  • Your responses (target words, clues, and derived scores) will be processed to generate your results.
  • Your anonymized responses may be aggregated into the Phronos data commons for research purposes.
  • Your responses will be transmitted to third-party services for processing (see "Third-Party Services" below).

You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing conducted prior to withdrawal, nor does it remove data that has already been anonymized and aggregated.

Full details on data handling are provided in our Privacy Policy.

Third-Party Services

Phronos uses third-party services to process instrument responses:

OpenAI provides text embedding services. Your word inputs are transmitted to OpenAI's API to generate vector representations used in scoring. OpenAI's use of this data is governed by their API Data Usage Policies.

Anthropic provides language model services. Your inputs may be processed by Anthropic's Claude to support instrument functionality. Anthropic's use of this data is governed by their API Terms of Service.

We select third-party providers who commit to not training on API inputs. However, we cannot guarantee the practices of third parties. By participating, you acknowledge and accept the involvement of these services.

Intellectual Property

All content, methods, instruments, code, and documentation produced by Phronos remain the intellectual property of Epochal Health Solutions LLC unless explicitly released under open-source or open-access terms.

Our commitment to open science means that methods and frameworks may be published for scrutiny and replication. Publication does not constitute transfer of ownership or license to commercialize.

Your responses and the telemetry derived from them are addressed in our Privacy Policy. In brief: your data belongs to you, but anonymized and aggregated data contributes to a commons that belongs to everyone.

Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

  • Use Phronos instruments for any unlawful purpose.
  • Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract proprietary algorithms from our instruments.
  • Transmit malicious code, spam, or automated queries designed to disrupt service.
  • Misrepresent instrument results as clinical diagnoses or professional assessments.
  • Scrape, harvest, or systematically collect data from Phronos platforms without written permission.
  • Use Phronos instruments to generate training data for competing services.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access for violations of these Terms.

Disclaimers

PHRONOS INSTRUMENTS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that:

  • Instruments will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.
  • Results will be accurate, complete, or reliable for any purpose.
  • Defects will be corrected.

Cognitive science is an evolving field. Our methods represent current understanding and are subject to revision as knowledge advances. Instrument outputs should be interpreted with appropriate epistemic humility.

Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, EPOCHAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS LLC AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE PHRONOS INSTRUMENTS.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF PHRONOS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO ACCESS THE RELEVANT INSTRUMENT, OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100), WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

These limitations apply regardless of the theory of liability and even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Epochal Health Solutions LLC and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of Phronos instruments, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of a third party.

Modifications

We may modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be posted to phronos.org with an updated effective date. Your continued use of Phronos instruments after modifications constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.

Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of Phronos shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in California. You consent to personal jurisdiction in these courts.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Constitution, constitute the entire agreement between you and Epochal Health Solutions LLC regarding your use of Phronos.

Contact

Questions about these Terms may be directed to:

Epochal Health Solutions LLC, dba Phronos
Email: legal@phronos.org

This document is part of Phronos governance. For our foundational principles, see the Phronos Constitution.