Retaining context does not explain why activity continues
A system might remember an earlier task while requiring a new instruction before acting again.
Persistence: what continues, and for how long?
Persistence needs an object: an activity, a stored state, an authorisation or something else.
Starting question
When someone says an agent is persistent, what exactly remains available or continues operating?
Distinctions to investigate
- An activity continues without a fresh instruction.
- Stored information survives the end of an activity.
- Permission remains valid for later activities.
These possibilities may coincide, but a claim about one does not establish the others. This is a proposed distinction to investigate, not a settled definition.
What to examine
Identify the trigger, continuation conditions and termination rule. Ask whether the same authorisation can start another activity after the current one ends.
Connections
NOTE-001 explores how permission and observation might interact. PEB-001 holds a shorter question about retained context.