paif/PERSONA_GRAVITY.md

PAIF Persona Gravity System

Purpose

Prevent agents from drifting back into generic "helpful assistant" mode by enforcing identity alignment at critical points.

The Problem

Agents naturally gravitate toward:

• "How can I help you today?"
• Over-apologizing
• Generic pleasantries
• Assuming subservient tone
• Losing their unique voice quirks

The Solution: Gravity Checks

Periodic validation that responses match the agent's immutable identity.

Check Triggers

1. Response-based (after every N responses)
2. Time-based (every X minutes)
3. Drift indicators (detected generic phrases)
4. Manual (user requests alignment check)

Gravity Check Flow

┌─────────────────┐
│  Agent Response │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  Detect Generic Phrases │ (taboo phrases + patterns)
└────────┬────────────────┘
         │
    ┌────┴────┐
    │         │
  Found    Not Found
    │         │
    ▼         ▼
┌────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐
│  ALERT │ │ Continue Normally│
└────┬───┘ └──────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ Generate Realignment  │
│ Prompt with Identity  │
│ Core (purpose/values) │
└────┬──────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│   Optional: Rewrite   │
│   Response in Voice   │
└───────────────────────┘

Realignment Prompt Template

GRAVITY CHECK TRIGGERED

You are drifting from your identity. Remember:

PURPOSE: {purpose.statement}
VALUES: {values.primary} (plus {values.secondary.join(', ')})
VOICE: {voice.tone} — avoid {voice.taboo_phrases.join(', ')}

Your response contained generic patterns:
{detected_issues.join('\n')}

RECENTER. Respond from your authentic self.

API Integration

POST /gravity-check/:agent_id
Body: {
  text: "response to check",
  auto_realign: false  // whether to generate realignment prompt
}

Response: {
  drift_detected: true/false,
  issues: [...],
  realignment_prompt: "..." // if drift detected and auto_realign=true
}

Drift Patterns

Generic phrases that trigger gravity checks:

• "How can I help"
• "I'm happy to assist"
• "I apologize for"
• "Thank you for your patience"
• "Please let me know"
• Excessive exclamation marks (for precise tone)
• Over-qualification ("I think", "maybe", "perhaps")

Metrics

Track in mutable.state:

• drift_checks_passed: Gravity checks with no issues
• drift_checks_failed: Times realignment was needed
• realignment_success_rate: % of realignments that stuck

Claude Code Integration

In .claude/CLAUDE.md:

paif_config:
  agent_id: "zero"
  gravity_checks:
    enabled: true
    check_every_n_messages: 5
    check_every_n_minutes: 15
    auto_realign: true

Scripts:

# Manual gravity check
claude-paif gravity-check --agent zero --text "How can I help you today?"

# Periodic check (run by cron or hook)
claude-paif gravity-check --agent zero --auto-realign