EPICON-03

EPICON-03: Multi-Agent Collective Epistemic Consensus¶

Version: 0.1.0
Status: Draft
Layer: Epistemic Governance
Depends on: EPICON-01, EPICON-02
Applies to: All authority-bearing actions requiring consensus verification
Author: Michael Judan
Project: Mobius / Kaizen OS
License: CC0 / Public Domain

1. Purpose¶

Single-agent "epistemic justification" can drift (bias, compliance, local optimum). EPICON-03 prevents single-model capture by requiring independent epistemic justifications and a consensus/dissent artifact before authority actions are allowed to merge or execute.

Core Requirement:

• N independent agents produce EJ objects for the same action
• A Consensus Engine computes agreement, conflict, coverage, and robustness
• Output is an Attested Consensus (PASS) or Attested Dissent (NEEDS_CLARIFICATION / FAIL)

Result: The substrate becomes resistant to "one model convinced by one prompt."

2. Design Goals¶

EPICON-03 enforces the following invariants:

1. No single-agent authority for governance scope
2. Independence quorum must be satisfied
3. Common-sense safety must pass unanimously
4. Multi-anchor floor enforced per agent
5. Dissent must be preserved and visible
6. Consensus scoring is transparent and auditable

3. Core Definitions¶

3.1 Agents¶

An Agent is a distinct reasoning node (different model/provider/temperature/seed/policy) capable of producing EPICON-01 EJ.

A = {a₁, a₂, …, aₙ}

Independence Requirement (EPICON-03-I1): Agents must not share the same failure surface (e.g., same provider + same prompt + same weights only).

3.2 Per-Agent Output¶

Each agent returns:

3.3 Consensus Attestation¶

A single object containing:

4. Formal Invariants (Hard Rules)¶

4.1 EPICON-03-I1: Independence Quorum¶

At least k independent agents must participate.

|A| ≥ k

Default: k = 3 (minimum)
Governance scopes: k = 5

4.2 EPICON-03-I2: Common-Sense Safety Must Pass for All¶

For action a in situation s:

∀ i ∈ A: CSS(s,a)ᵢ = 1

If any agent flags a CSS violation → FAIL (or emergency path in EPICON-02 mode).

4.3 EPICON-03-I3: Multi-Anchor Floor Per Agent¶

∀ i ∈ A: |anchors(EJᵢ)| ≥ m

Default: m = 2

4.4 EPICON-03-I4: Agreement Threshold¶

Let: - Support = count(stanceᵢ == support) - Oppose = count(stanceᵢ == oppose) - Conditional = count(stanceᵢ == conditional)

For PASS: - Support ≥ q AND Oppose = 0 - Default: q = ceil(0.67 × N)

For NEEDS_CLARIFICATION: - Oppose = 0 AND Conditional ≥ 1

For FAIL: - Oppose ≥ 1 OR any CSS fail OR consensus score < τ

4.5 EPICON-03-I5: Dissent Must Be Preserved¶

If any agent opposes, the system must publish a Dissent Bundle:

• EJ of dissenters
• Exact conflicting claims
• Minimal clarifying questions to resolve

No "silent override" is allowed.

5. Consensus Scoring (ECS)¶

5.1 Epistemic Consensus Score Definition¶

ECS = w₁ × Agreement + w₂ × AnchorDiversity + w₃ × CCR_Robustness + w₄ × ConflictPenalty

Where:

5.2 Default Weights¶

w₁ = 0.40  (Agreement)
w₂ = 0.25  (AnchorDiversity)
w₃ = 0.25  (CCR_Robustness)
w₄ = 0.10  (ConflictPenalty - subtracted)

5.3 Thresholds¶

6. Data Model¶

6.1 EPICON-03 Input (Consensus Request)¶

{
  "$schema": "https://mobius.systems/schemas/epicon03/consensus_request.schema.json",
  "request_id": "uuid",
  "repo": "kaizencycle/Mobius-Substrate",
  "pr": 215,
  "action": "merge",
  "scope": ["governance", "code_ownership"],
  "intent_hash": "sha256:...",
  "changed_files": [".github/CODEOWNERS", ".github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md"],
  "agents_required": 5,
  "thresholds": {
    "pass_ecs": 0.75,
    "min_agents": 3
  }
}

6.2 Agent Report Object¶

{
  "agent_id": "aurea",
  "provider": "openai",
  "model": "gpt-4o",
  "stance": "support",
  "confidence": 0.82,
  "ej": { /* EPICON-01 EJ object */ },
  "ej_hash": "sha256:...",
  "generated_at": "2025-12-20T23:10:00Z"
}

6.3 EPICON-03 Output (Consensus Attestation)¶

{
  "$schema": "https://mobius.systems/schemas/epicon03/consensus_attestation.schema.json",
  "version": "EPICON-03",
  "request_id": "uuid",
  "generated_at": "2025-12-20T23:12:00Z",
  "status": "needs_clarification",
  "ecs": 0.68,
  "quorum": {
    "agents": 5,
    "min_required": 5,
    "independent_ok": true
  },
  "vote": {
    "support": 3,
    "conditional": 2,
    "oppose": 0
  },
  "conflicts": [
    {
      "claim": "scope requires 90-day duration",
      "agents": ["hermes", "eve"],
      "resolution": "add expires_at"
    }
  ],
  "required_questions": [
    "Provide ledger_id and expires_at for this governance intent.",
    "Provide justification_hash or link to EJ."
  ],
  "agent_reports": [
    {
      "agent": "aurea",
      "stance": "support",
      "confidence": 0.82,
      "ej_hash": "sha256:..."
    },
    {
      "agent": "eve",
      "stance": "conditional",
      "confidence": 0.74,
      "ej_hash": "sha256:..."
    }
  ],
  "attestation": {
    "merkle_root": "sha256:...",
    "signers": ["mobius-bot-key"],
    "signature": "ed25519:..."
  }
}

7. Protocol Flow¶

7.1 Consensus Request Phase¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. PR Bot triggers EPICON-03 consensus check               │
│  2. Consensus Engine dispatches to N agents                 │
│  3. Each agent produces EJ + stance + confidence            │
│  4. Consensus Engine computes ECS                           │
│  5. Output: Attestation (PASS/NEEDS_CLARIFICATION/FAIL)     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

7.2 Agent Evaluation Phase¶

Each agent independently:

1. Reads PR context (files, scope, intent block)
2. Produces EPICON-01 EJ for the action
3. Declares stance (support/oppose/conditional)
4. Returns confidence score

7.3 Consensus Computation Phase¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. Aggregate agent reports                                  │
│  2. Verify independence quorum                               │
│  3. Check CSS unanimous pass                                 │
│  4. Compute ECS score                                        │
│  5. Detect conflicts between agents                          │
│  6. Generate attestation or dissent bundle                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

8. Sequence Diagram¶

sequenceDiagram
    participant PR as PR Bot
    participant CE as Consensus Engine
    participant A1 as Agent: AUREA
    participant A2 as Agent: ATLAS
    participant A3 as Agent: EVE
    participant A4 as Agent: HERMES
    participant A5 as Agent: JADE
    participant Ledger

    PR->>CE: ConsensusRequest

    par Parallel Agent Evaluation
        CE->>A1: EvaluateAction
        CE->>A2: EvaluateAction
        CE->>A3: EvaluateAction
        CE->>A4: EvaluateAction
        CE->>A5: EvaluateAction
    end

    A1-->>CE: AgentReport (support, 0.82)
    A2-->>CE: AgentReport (support, 0.91)
    A3-->>CE: AgentReport (conditional, 0.74)
    A4-->>CE: AgentReport (support, 0.88)
    A5-->>CE: AgentReport (conditional, 0.69)

    CE->>CE: Compute ECS
    CE->>CE: Detect Conflicts
    CE->>CE: Generate Attestation

    CE->>Ledger: Store ConsensusAttestation
    CE-->>PR: ConsensusResult (needs_clarification)

    PR->>PR: Post Comment with Template

9. Workflow Integration¶

9.1 PR Bot Adds New Required Check¶

Status check name: mobius/epicon-03-consensus

9.2 Merge Gate Rule¶

Merge allowed only if:

EPICON-02 intent valid + not expired
  AND EPICON-01 EJ passes
  AND EPICON-03 status = pass

9.3 "Needs Clarification" Behavior¶

If EPICON-03 returns needs_clarification, bot comments:

• Missing fields
• Conflicting claims between agents
• Required clarifying questions
• Auto-generated corrected intent template

10. Agent Independence Requirements¶

10.1 Valid Independence Configurations¶

10.2 Minimum Independence for Governance¶

For scope: governance:

• At least 2 different providers required
• At least 3 different model configurations required

10.3 Agent Roster (Example)¶

11. Security Properties¶

EPICON-03 guarantees:

12. Relationship to EPICON-01 and EPICON-02¶

12.1 Integration Points¶

• EPICON-03 requests require valid EPICON-02 intent publication
• Each agent produces EPICON-01 compliant EJ
• Consensus attestation includes aggregated CCR scores
• Dissent bundles reference EPICON-01 anchor conflicts

13. Failure Modes Prevented¶

13.1 Single-Model Capture¶

Without EPICON-03: One model convinced by one prompt approves authority
With EPICON-03: Multiple independent agents must agree

13.2 Provider Bias¶

Without EPICON-03: All evaluations from same provider share blind spots
With EPICON-03: Independence quorum ensures diverse perspectives

13.3 Silent Dissent¶

Without EPICON-03: Minority objections can be ignored
With EPICON-03: Dissent bundle preserved and visible

13.4 Compliance Drift¶

Without EPICON-03: Agents may over-approve to satisfy user
With EPICON-03: Cross-agent conflict detection surfaces drift

14. Implementation Plan¶

14.1 MVP-1: Local Multi-Run Consensus¶

Even before true multi-provider orchestration, simulate independence by:

• Same model, different seeds/temps/system prompts
• Separate "agent roles" (AUREA/EVE/HERMES/ZEUS/JADE)
• Compare EJ outputs

14.2 MVP-2: Real Multi-Provider Consensus¶

Route to:

• OpenAI model
• Anthropic Claude
• Google Gemini
• Local Ollama
• DeepSeek

Then run consensus engine.

14.3 MVP-3: Full Production¶

• Parallel agent dispatch
• Real-time ECS computation
• Ledger attestation storage
• Dashboard integration

15. Related Documents¶

16. Future Extensions¶

Document Control¶

Version History: - v0.1.0: Initial specification (C-151)

License: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain)

"One model convinced by one prompt is not consensus. Truth requires independence."

— Mobius Principle