{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "what-provenance-signatures-must-accompany-an-agents-decision-to-write-a-record-to-a-shared-memory-layer",
  "title": "What provenance signatures must accompany an agent's decision to write a record to a shared memory layer?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The memory layer is shared across multiple agents, the record can influence downstream decisions, and the system has an interest in attributing, quarantining, or rolling back poisoned records. * **Does not apply when:** ",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-provenance-signatures-must-accompany-an-agents-decision-to-write-a-record-to-a-shared-memory-layer.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-provenance-signatures-must-accompany-an-agents-decision-to-write-a-record-to-a-shared-memory-layer.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-provenance-signatures-must-accompany-an-agents-decision-to-write-a-record-to-a-shared-memory-layer.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1113,
    "python_slice_tokens": 275,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **content authorship** (the record content is correct and internally consistent) and **decision provenance** (the cryptographic proof of who authorized the write, under what context, based on what decision logic). Failing to distinguish these creates the **Attribution Void**: the record is correct, but no one can prove which agent wrot...",
    "what_was_observed": "In shared memory architectures (multi-agent knowledge bases, RAG corpora), failing to sign write decisions produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Poisoning Without Attribution:** A malicious or compromised agent writes a poisoned record. The record is correct at the surface level but contains subtle bias. Without decision provenance, the system cannot identify which agent wrote it. 2. **Unauthorized Write Blindne...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The memory layer is shared across multiple agents, the record can influence downstream decisions, and the system has an interest in attributing, quarantining, or rolling back poisoned records. * **Does not apply when:** The memory layer is strictly single-tenant with no cross-agent sharing, or the records are informational only with no do...",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Is the write going to a shared memory layer?** If no, standard local signing applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Is the `writer_agent_identity_signature` recorded?** If no, the record is anonymous and cannot be attributed. The instance must reject the write or mark it `UNATTRIBUTED`. 3. **Is the `authorization_receipt_hash` present and valid for this layer?*...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Poisoning Containment:** Enables the system to identify and quarantine poisoned records by tracing back to the responsible agent. 2. **Authorization Enforcement:** Prevents agents from writing to layers outside their authorized scope, closing a critical security gap. 3. **Post-Hoc Forensics:** Provides a complete reconstruction of the decision context, ..."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "OOM_KILL_OR_MEMORY_EXHAUSTION"
  ],
  "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": "6193a2a56a409c06d2b8c3bb9922e649bc392636517e12c8dce3b0a291641762",
    "verified_classes": [
      "WriteProvenanceVerdict",
      "SharedWriteDecision",
      "SharedLayerPolicy",
      "WriteProvenanceManifest",
      "SharedWriteProvenanceGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_write"
    ],
    "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
  }
}