Infrastructure · Primitives
Probe
Active verification query
Definition
Mechanism
An active query that returns verifiable information about system or environment state. Unlike passive observation, a Probe interacts with its target to extract ground truth. It is the primitive mechanism for verification. Probes have cost (resources to execute) and latency (time to return). Stateful probes execute in a Sandbox to prevent production impact.
Preconditions
- Response timeout defined
- Target agent addressable
Postconditions
- No side effects on production target
- Probe cost paid
- Target capability verified OR timeout
Invariants
- Reflects the target's state at the instant of the query, not when the result is read.
- Repeatability: the same probe on unchanged state returns the same result.
- Completes within `timeout_ms`.
- A probe that perturbs its target runs in a Sandbox.
Risks
Failure modes
Observer Effect
Probe changes the state it measures.
Stale Probe
Result reflects past state, not current.
Probe Cost
Verification cost exceeds value of information.
False Positive/Negative
Probe returns incorrect result.
Sandbox Escape
Probe execution affects production state.
Proxy Failure
Passing the quiz does not guarantee performance on the job.
Relationships
Builds on
References
Isolation boundary
Used by
References
Society
Expendable agent tests the full coordination path before real commit
Structured capability advertisement: agent_id, endpoint, protocols, capabilities, metadata
Mind
Learning via cheap, instructive failure
Mind
Systematic categorization of ignorance
Composes with
Mind
High-reliability, high-latency System 2 solver
Reference
Parameters
difficultyInt, [1-5]- Complexity of the verification challenge (1 = trivial, 5 = hard)
timeout_msInt, [100, 30000]- Maximum milliseconds to wait for probe response
verification_modeEnum, {StaticVector, Procedural, Sandbox, StakedReport}- Method used to verify probe response