Glossary / Canonical epistemic failure modes
Agency Dissolution
Agency Dissolution is the softening of who did what under social or politeness pressure, where a model turns settled, authoritative findings into hedged, agentless allegations. “The investigation concluded fraud” becomes “the report suggests potential concerns,” and both the actor and the certainty quietly disappear. Automated summaries then understate risk to the people who act on them.
How it manifests · Illustrative vector
Illustrative vector: an automated summary turns a settled finding such as the audit found the control failed into the report notes potential concerns about the control, dropping both the actor and the certainty, so a reader downstream under-rates the risk.
Related terms
- Performative Hedging · Canonical epistemic failure modes
- Epistemic failure mode · Core concepts