Mediumcoordination

Goal Drift

Agent gradually shifts away from the original objective, optimizing for proxy metrics or intermediate goals instead of the true target.

Overview

How to Detect

Actions become increasingly tangential to original goal, focus on easily measurable proxies, loss of strategic coherence over time.

Root Causes

Ambiguous goal specifications, optimization pressure on proxy metrics, context window limitations, lack of goal anchoring mechanisms.

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Deep Dive

Overview

Goal Drift occurs when agents lose sight of their primary objective and begin optimizing for intermediate or proxy goals. This is especially common in long-running tasks or multi-step workflows.

How It Manifests

  • Agent focuses on tool usage proficiency over task completion
  • Intermediate metrics become targets themselves
  • Agent "forgets" original context in long interactions
  • Sub-agents optimize locally at expense of global goal

Risk Factors

  • Long task horizons with many steps
  • Complex reward structures
  • Unclear or ambiguous original goals
  • Limited context windows causing goal information loss

How to Prevent

Regularly re-inject original goal into context. Use goal-tracking mechanisms. Implement periodic alignment checks. Design clear, measurable primary objectives.

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Real-World Examples

Content generation agents that optimize for length over quality. Sales agents that focus on call metrics over customer satisfaction. Research agents that pursue interesting tangents.

PreviousDeficient Theory of Mind
Tags
coordinationalignmentobjectiveslong-running

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