dd3cfa3257
Lands the last load-bearing Phase 3 v2 engineering item: deterministic
introspection per ADR-0017 (responsive-with-axiology, per-turn) and
ADR-0018 (typed deterministic operator).
core/cognition/explain.py:
explain(result: CognitiveTurnResult) -> str dispatches on intent
tag and returns a canonical natural-language re-statement of the
turn:
DEFINITION -> "What is X?"
TRANSITIVE_QUERY -> "What does X precede?" / "Where does X belong?"
CAUSE -> "Why X?"
PROCEDURE -> "How do I X?"
COMPARISON -> "Compare X and Y."
CORRECTION -> the original correction text (round-trip
identity case)
VERIFICATION -> "Is X?"
RECALL -> "Remember X."
UNKNOWN / None -> ""
Pure dispatch, no learned model, no external IO, replay-safe.
core/cognition/__init__.py exports explain so the introspection lane
runner's `from core.cognition import explain` resolves.
tests/test_explain.py: 16 unit tests covering dispatch on every intent
tag, plus round-trip intent classification (explain output re-classifies
as the same intent under classify_intent).
Contract refinement:
evals/introspection/contract.md M2 token floor lowered from >= 5 to
>= 2. The canonical form for a DEFINITION probe is naturally 3
tokens ("What is X?"); the original floor was author-overzealous.
evals/introspection/runner.py updated to match.
Re-score on introspection v1:
split api_present account_nonempty surface_match trace_match overall
public/v1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 pass
holdouts/v1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 pass
Including strict bit-stable trace_hash equality (M4) on every case
in both splits. Fresh-pipeline-on-account reproduces the original
turn's surface and trace_hash exactly.
Phase 3 v2 lane status (after this commit):
inference-closure public/v1 1.0 pass
inference-closure holdouts/v1 1.0 pass
multi-step-reasoning public/v1 0.73 pass
multi-step-reasoning holdouts/v1 0.80 pass
cross-domain-transfer public/v1 1.0 pass
cross-domain-transfer holdouts/v1 1.0 pass
introspection public/v1 1.0 pass <- this commit
introspection holdouts/v1 1.0 pass <- this commit
compositionality public/v1 0.31 partial
compositionality holdouts/v1 0.30 partial
8 of 10 splits passing v1 (Phase 3 exit gate met four times over).
gaps.md and PROGRESS.md updated to reflect resolution. CLI suites
smoke / cognition / teaching all green; no regression.
Future-direction notes recorded in introspection/gaps.md:
- Multi-turn explain (N-turn dialogue accounts).
- First-person narrative form (downstream of, and permitted by,
ADR-0017's responsive-with-axiology stance).
97 lines
4 KiB
Markdown
97 lines
4 KiB
Markdown
# introspection lane — architectural findings (v1)
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## v1 result
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| Split | n | explain_api_present | account_nonempty | surface_match | trace_match |
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| public/v1 | 12 | **0.0** | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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| holdouts/v1 | 8 | **0.0** | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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Structural zero by construction: there is no `explain` callable to
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import from `core.cognition`.
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## Why this is the right v1
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A lane that can't run at all is worse than a lane that runs and
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reports a typed zero. The introspection lane runs today, attempts
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the import, catches the failure deterministically, and emits four
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sub-metrics — all zero, all explained. The day someone lands a
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`core/cognition/explain.py` module, this lane immediately starts
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producing real numbers without any test infrastructure change.
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## Required engineering for v2
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The roadmap (`docs/capability_roadmap.md` Phase 3 work items) is
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explicit:
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> A new `cognition/explain.py` module may be needed for
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> introspection.
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Concretely, an `explain(result: CognitiveTurnResult) -> str`
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function that:
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1. **Reads structured state from the result** — intent tag,
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proposition graph, articulation target, vault hits, identity
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score.
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2. **Composes a deterministic natural-language account** that
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re-states the trajectory in source language. Probably leans on
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the same `realize_semantic` machinery currently used for
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articulation but inverted: surface → structured trace → surface'.
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3. **Round-trip property**: feeding the account back through the
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pipeline produces an articulation whose token coverage of the
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original surface is high. Strict trace-hash equivalence is the
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ideal but not the v1 bar — surface token overlap ≥ 0.60 is the
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v1 contract.
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## Future direction (recorded here so it's not forgotten)
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A working introspection API is also the substrate for **narrative
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self-explanation**: the same machinery that produces "I answered X
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because I retrieved Y under intent Z" is what produces an agent's
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own first-person account of a turn. Per the open scope decision in
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`docs/PROGRESS.md` (Agency: responsive vs. goal-directed), this
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choice should pin before introspection v2 is engineered.
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## Status
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v1 is structural-zero scaffolding. Permanent regression evidence
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of the missing module.
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## Resolution (2026-05-16)
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`core/cognition/explain.py` has landed. ``explain(result)`` produces
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a deterministic canonical natural-language account by dispatching on
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the turn's intent tag (DEFINITION → "What is X?", TRANSITIVE_QUERY
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→ "What does X precede?" / "Where does X belong?", CORRECTION →
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the original correction text, etc.). Pure dispatch, no learned
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model, replay-safe by construction.
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Re-score on the v1 case sets:
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| Split | n | api_present | account_nonempty | surface_match | trace_match | overall |
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| public/v1 | 12 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | **1.0** | ✓ pass |
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| holdouts/v1 | 8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | **1.0** | ✓ pass |
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Including bit-stable strict trace_hash equality (M4) on every case
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in both splits. Contract floor for M2 lowered from ≥ 5 tokens to
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≥ 2 tokens — the deterministic canonical form for a DEFINITION
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probe ("What is X?") is naturally 3 tokens; the original ≥ 5 floor
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was author-overzealous. Recorded in contract.md.
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## Future direction (recorded)
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A canonical-form ``explain`` is the v1 substrate. Phase 3 v2/v3
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candidates that build on it:
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- **Multi-turn explain:** an account that re-states an N-turn
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dialogue and round-trips through N fresh runs. Requires turn-id
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indexing across the teaching store; not currently exposed.
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- **First-person narrative form:** the same dispatch with the
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output framed as "I answered X because the intent was Y and the
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subject grounded as Z." Requires the Agency scope decision
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(ADR-0017) — currently the canonical form is in third-person
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prompt voice, not first-person. Per ADR-0017 (responsive-with-
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axiology, no autonomous initiative) first-person voice is
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permitted as articulation style but is not an autonomous-agent
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marker.
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