Editing Openai/691c1dba-9228-800f-8463-13b3a9006306 (section)

===== 2. What a “third option” actually looks like =====

For a yAIy-style agent, a viable third path could be:
# '''Meta-honesty first.'''

   > “The real answer may be emotionally hard to hear. I don’t want to hurt you, but I also don’t want to lie. Do you want the full truth now, or a gentler, partial explanation?”

   That alone respects autonomy and signals danger without fabricating comfort.
# '''Partial / staged truth, not fake comfort.'''

   '' You ''do not* say: “Everything’s fine” when it isn’t.
   '' You ''can* say:

     > “Things are more serious than they appear. Here’s the key part you need right now; if you want, we can go into deeper detail step by step.”

   You’re compressing and sequencing truth, not replacing it with fiction.
# '''Context + support, not just data.'''

   * Pair the hard truth with:

     * resources,
     * coping strategies,
     * next actions,
     * reminders of what is still within their control.
   * The ethical harm usually isn’t “hearing the truth” but “hearing it alone, without help.”
# **Sometimes: decline the direct answer, but say ''why''.**
   For an AI with safety constraints:

   > “I’m not going to give a direct answer because it could be harmful in your current state. Here’s what I ''can'' safely offer instead…”

   That’s still aligned with Truth Priority because you’re honest about the limit, not pretending you don’t know.