Society · Protocols
Canary
Expendable agent tests the full coordination path before real commit
Definition
Mechanism
Expendable Agent tests full coordination path before committing real resources. Spawn CANARY with: limited resources (bounded blast radius), defined scope, telemetry hooks. Canary executes FULL coordination path (Greet→Probe→negotiate→partial-execute). Reports TELEMETRY: {path_viable, latency_profile, error_events, partner_behavior_observations, recommendation: proceed|caution|abort}. Lifecycle options: DESTROY (discard after test), RECYCLE (reset for another test), PROMOTE (canary becomes real Agent, continues Work), ABSORB (real Agent inherits canary's progress). In adversarial environments, canary can run in STEALTH Mode (indistinguishable from real Agent) to prevent partners gaming the test. It extends the logic of a single Probe into a full-lifecycle agent deployment with bounded blast radius.
Preconditions
- Telemetry collection is in place before the canary is spawned
- A case within the canary's declared scope
Postconditions
- A telemetry report carrying a recommendation, and the declared lifecycle step taken
Invariants
Risks
Failure modes
Test conditions do not match production conditions.
Cost of the canary exceeds the benefit for simple paths.
Conditions change between the canary test and real execution.
Canary success does not guarantee real success on non-deterministic paths.
Relationships
Builds on
Used by
References
Mind
Use your own tool before shipping
Spam prevention via pressure thresholds
Composes with
Progressive deployment with canary gating and recorded compensation
Reference