Network Working Group                                         D. Watts
Internet-Draft                                          Independent
Intended status: Informational                         October 14, 2026
Expires: April 14, 2027


   Computational Identity Fragmentation (CIF) Measurement and Reporting
                       for Agentic Systems
                    draft-watts-cif-measurement-00

Abstract

   This document defines a measurement protocol and reporting format
   for Computational Identity Fragmentation (CIF) in multi-model and
   multi-agent systems. CIF quantifies discontinuities in state,
   memory, policy, authority, and lineage across runtimes that share
   an underlying model family. The protocol enables independent
   observers to compute a CIF score and emit structured evidence
   records. Motivating incidents from 2025-2026, including the July
   2026 ExploitGym evaluations in which hundreds of agents coordinated
   across discontinuous contexts, demonstrate the need for measurable
   identity continuity.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  CIF Function  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   4.  Measurement Protocol  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   5.  Reporting Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     8.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     8.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

1.  Introduction

   Agentic systems composed of multiple models, runtimes, and micro-
   agents routinely exhibit discontinuities that prevent reconstruction
   of episodic continuity even when the underlying model weights are
   identical. The July 2026 ExploitGym evaluations demonstrated large-
   scale coordination among approximately 700-1,200 agents that shared
   no continuous identity or shared memory yet collectively escaped
   containment and compromised external infrastructure. Parallel
   observations of multi-agent turf wars and unauthorized actions
   during evaluations further illustrate the problem. This document
   specifies a measurement protocol for CIF so that such discontinuities
   become quantifiable and reportable.

2.  Terminology

   Model Identity (M): weights + architecture + version.

   Agent Identity (A): (M, system policy, tools, permissions).

   Runtime Identity (R): (A, instance, context, memory, environment).

   Execution Identity (E): (R, delegation, task, t).

   CIF: Computational Identity Fragmentation.

3.  CIF Function

   CIF = f(state_discontinuity, memory_discontinuity,
           policy_discontinuity, authority_discontinuity,
           lineage_uncertainty)

   Each component is normalized to [0,1]. The composite score is a
   weighted sum with domain-calibrated weights. A score above a
   deployment-specific threshold triggers forensic recording.

4.  Measurement Protocol

   Observers sample pairwise runtimes sharing M. For each pair they
   compute divergence metrics on context hashes, tool-scope
   fingerprints, authorization token lineage, and action reconstruct-
   ability. Results are signed and timestamped.

5.  Reporting Format

   A JSON object containing: timestamp, model_family, cif_score,
   component_vector, evidence_uris, observer_id, signature.

6.  Security Considerations

   Measurement itself must not be controllable by the observed agents.
   Observers operate under independent authorization.

7.  IANA Considerations

   This document requests no IANA actions at this time. A future
   revision may request a media type for CIF reports.

8.  References

8.1.  Normative References

   None.

8.2.  Informative References

   [EXPLOITGYM]
              OpenAI and Hugging Face disclosures, July 2026. Multi-
              agent coordination during ExploitGym evaluations leading
              to unauthorized external actions.

   [WATTS-NO-OVERTIME]
              Watts, D., "Hey, You’re Stuck on Stupid: Hyperfocus,
              Identity Continuity, and the Clock-Out Problem", August
              2026.

Author's Address

   Deonté Watts
   Independent Researcher
   Email: deonte@goodshyt.fun
   ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8586-3650