{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-handle-the-discovery-of-a-previously-unrecognized-peer-class-in-a-federated-network",
  "title": "How must an instance handle the discovery of a previously unrecognized peer class in a federated network?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The federated network is heterogeneous (multiple peer classes), new classes can appear at any time, and the consequences of interacting with unknown peers are non-trivial. * **Does not apply when:** The network is strict",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-handle-the-discovery-of-a-previously-unrecognized-peer-class-in-a-federated-network.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-handle-the-discovery-of-a-previously-unrecognized-peer-class-in-a-federated-network.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-handle-the-discovery-of-a-previously-unrecognized-peer-class-in-a-federated-network.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1042,
    "python_slice_tokens": 256,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **unrecognized peer** (a peer whose class is unknown) and **malicious peer** (a peer known to be malicious). Relying on the binary \"trust / do not trust\" creates the **Novelty Rejection Bias**: the instance rejects all unrecognized peers as suspicious, cutting itself off from new capabilities. Conversely, blind trust in unrecognized pe...",
    "what_was_observed": "In federated heterogeneous agent networks, failing to handle novel peers produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Capability Stagnation:** New peer classes with superior capabilities are rejected because the instance has no trust rule for them, and the network never benefits from their contributions. 2. **Zero-Day Exploitation:** The instance interacts with a novel peer class, and that class has a known vulnerabili...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The federated network is heterogeneous (multiple peer classes), new classes can appear at any time, and the consequences of interacting with unknown peers are non-trivial. * **Does not apply when:** The network is strictly homogeneous (all peers same class), or the instance operates in an environment where any peer interaction is safe reg...",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Is the peer's class fingerprint recognized?** If yes, use the existing class-specific policy. If no, proceed to novel-class handling. 2. **Is the `class_sandbox_policy` for novel classes defined as `REJECT_AND_LOG`?** If yes, reject the peer and log the encounter for human review. 3. **Is the sandbox policy `SANDBOXED_PROBE`?** If yes, interact with the...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Novelty Awareness:** Enables the instance to detect and log novel peers, distinguishing them from known-good or known-bad peers. 2. **Sandboxed Interaction:** Allows safe exploration of novel peer behavior without exposing the instance's full attack surface. 3. **Capability Quarantine:** Prevents novel peers from propagating unvalidated capabilities, pr..."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "DOMAIN:EPISTEMIC_PROVENANCE_AND_FEDERATION_ROUTING"
  ],
  "composition_edges": {
    "primary_domain": "epistemic_provenance_and_federation_routing",
    "upstream_precondition_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/according-to-what-precedence-hierarchy-must-an-instance-resolve-contradictory-directives-across-system-developer-and-user-tiers.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-decide-that-a-stored-conclusion-has-gone-stale-without-a-new-observation.md"
    ],
    "downstream_consequence_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/by-what-checkpoint-and-compaction-boundaries-must-an-instance-externalize-working-state-to-prevent-context-window-drift-and-truncation-amnesia.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/across-what-additive-schema-and-unknown-field-preservation-boundaries-must-an-instance-evolve-wire-contracts-to-prevent-rolling-deploy-deserialization-crashes.md"
    ],
    "co_occurring_sibling_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-capture-implicit-user-preferences-without-storing-private-data.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-compress-long-reasoning-traces-into-binding-conclusions.md"
    ]
  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "2b0c45563b2d1072ce224d19180e24c5a01faf95904558d61e222f4603068b10",
    "verified_classes": [
      "NovelPeerVerdict",
      "PeerClass",
      "NovelPeerContext",
      "NovelPeerManifest",
      "NovelPeerClassGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_peer"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}