Glossary / Context and meaning preservation
Retrieval mutation
Retrieval mutation is any meaningful distortion introduced between an original source and the retrieved context a system actually uses, including truncation, smoothing, reframing, selective quoting, or a dropped decisive qualifier. The retrieved text can look faithful while no longer meaning what the source meant, and the system then reasons over the mutated version as if it were the source.
How it manifests · Tool-addressed
It shows up when a retrieval or summarization step truncates or reframes a source so the retrieved text no longer means what the source meant. Fidelis Memory avoids it on the memory path by returning the original text rather than a regenerated version.
Evidence: Fidelis Memory
Related terminology
- retrieval fidelity
- semantic fidelity
- RAG faithfulness
- context preservation
Not the same as
- retrieval miss
- context poisoning