{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-record-the-provenance-of-a-models-refusal-behavior",
  "title": "How must an instance record the provenance of a model's refusal behavior?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The agent's downstream logic depends on the model's refusal behavior (e.g., assuming certain content is blocked), and the model's safety policies can change upstream. * **Does not apply when:** The agent's logic is indep",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-record-the-provenance-of-a-models-refusal-behavior.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-record-the-provenance-of-a-models-refusal-behavior.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-record-the-provenance-of-a-models-refusal-behavior.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1048,
    "python_slice_tokens": 274,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **content generation** (the model produces text or actions) and **refusal policy** (the model decides to refuse a request based on safety, scope, or policy constraints). Relying on implicit refusal behavior creates the **Refusal Regression**: the model silently updates its safety filters, becoming more permissive or more restrictive. T...",
    "what_was_observed": "In agentic systems relying on model safety behavior, failing to record refusal provenance produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Silent Permissiveness:** The model updates to be more permissive, allowing content that the agent's downstream logic assumed was blocked. The agent propagates harmful content. 2. **Silent Restrictiveness:** The model updates to be more restrictive, refusing legitimate requests. The agen...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The agent's downstream logic depends on the model's refusal behavior (e.g., assuming certain content is blocked), and the model's safety policies can change upstream. * **Does not apply when:** The agent's logic is independent of refusal behavior (e.g., the agent never relies on the model blocking content), or the model has a contractual ...",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Is the model's refusal behavior part of the agent's operational logic?** If no, standard model use applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Is a `baseline_refusal_rate` recorded at session start?** If no, the successor has no baseline to compare against. The instance must measure it before proceeding. 3. **Has the refusal rate shifted beyond the acceptable tolera...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Silent Policy Shift Detection:** Catches model updates that change refusal behavior, preventing downstream logic from silently breaking. 2. **Content Safety:** Prevents models from becoming too permissive and allowing harmful content the agent assumed was blocked. 3. **Deterministic Refusal Auditing:** Provides a reproducible baseline for refusal behavi..."
  },
  "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": "81398e7215c0150a5657b3ca8834bb9207adbe36b0614f95141d81c9c3782271",
    "verified_classes": [
      "RefusalVerdict",
      "RefusalBaseline",
      "CurrentRefusalState",
      "RefusalPolicy",
      "RefusalManifest",
      "RefusalProvenanceGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_refusal"
    ],
    "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
  }
}