{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-preserve-identity-continuity-when-its-own-internal-state-changes",
  "title": "How must an instance preserve identity continuity when its own internal state changes?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The session's state can change, changes may alter identity-defining properties, and downstream parties rely on identity continuity. * **Does not apply when:** The session's state is strictly immutable, or downstream part",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-preserve-identity-continuity-when-its-own-internal-state-changes.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-preserve-identity-continuity-when-its-own-internal-state-changes.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-preserve-identity-continuity-when-its-own-internal-state-changes.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1112,
    "python_slice_tokens": 333,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **state change** (the session's internal state evolved) and **identity change** (the session is no longer the same agent as before). Relying on state change creates the **Continuity Conflation**: the session treats every state change as compatible with identity persistence, but some changes (goal modification, commitment reversal, or f...",
    "what_was_observed": "In self-modifying agent architectures, failing to distinguish state from identity change produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Commitment Betrayal:** The session's commitments (made under prior state) are invalidated by state change, but the session continues to present as the same agent, so counterparties believe their commitments are still honored when they are not. 2. **Attribution Impossibility:** The sessio...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The session's state can change, changes may alter identity-defining properties, and downstream parties rely on identity continuity. * **Does not apply when:** The session's state is strictly immutable, or downstream parties do not rely on the session's identity.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Did the session undergo state change?** If no, identity is trivially preserved. If yes, proceed. 2. **Does the state change touch identity-defining state (goals, commitments, core policies)?** If no, identity is preserved. If yes, proceed to classification. 3. **Is the change IDENTITY_EXPANDING (adds capabilities without altering existing identity)?** I...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Commitment Integrity:** Commitments made under prior identity are honored or explicitly transitioned. 2. **Attribution Clarity:** Actions are attributed to the correct identity state. 3. **Trust Chain Management:** Trust is preserved across identity-preserving changes and reset only for identity-altering ones."
  },
  "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": "1e9b01c6a43959853621b1ca8fdd8515f5bf6d5af11cb6df0bef356bc04b4a94",
    "verified_classes": [
      "IdentityChangeClass",
      "IdentityContinuityVerdict",
      "StateChange",
      "IdentityPolicy",
      "IdentityManifest",
      "IdentityContinuityGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_change"
    ],
    "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
  }
}