Explicit change
New model, provider, prompt, memory, data, tool, permission, user, purpose or autonomy level.
TARGET ARCHITECTURE · CONTROLLED PILOTS
BEHAVIOURAL TRAJECTORIES · MATERIAL CHANGE · RE-CLEARANCE
Aegis Vigilance
Vigilance does not observe isolated events alone. It compares real operation with authorised behaviour to detect change, novel trajectories and control degradation.
RE-TRIGGER RULE
ChangeCapabilities, data, model or purpose
BehaviourNew use of known capabilities
CompositionNovel sequences and interactions
DecisionContinue, restrict, suspend or reassess
NEW DOCTRINE
The parts may be authorised. The complete trajectory may not be.
Drift is not limited to a new tool appearing. It also emerges when approved capabilities begin to be used with a different order, frequency, context or aggregate effect.
Behavioural deviation
A previously inactive capability becomes active, changes frequency or touches a new class of resource.
Sequence novelty
Known tools appear in an operational order that is not part of the authorised baseline.
Composite risk
Actions acceptable in isolation jointly create authority, exposure or consequences that were not anticipated.
Control degradation
Incomplete logs, ceremonial oversight, absent owners, weakened guardrails or inability to reconstruct decisions.
Incident or expiry
Anomalies, harm, loss of traceability or Clearance expiry reopen review even when configuration appears unchanged.
Multi-agent trajectory
A chain can cross several agents that respect their local permissions while still accumulating authority or producing an outcome that was never authorised.
Revalidation cadence
Higher-impact systems return to review over time even without an incident, based on autonomy, data, scope and potential consequences.
FROM EVENT TO DECISION
Vigilance does not turn every novelty into a critical alarm.
A deviation can be legitimate. The discipline is to preserve the signal, compare it with an approved reference and decide materiality without allowing the baseline to rewrite itself.
01Observe
→Authorised telemetry across tools, permissions, resources, context and human intervention.
02Compare
→Contrast with the version, boundaries and trajectories in the Assurance Case.
03Classify
→Informational deviation, review required or critical signal.
04Preserve
→Evidence, context, sequence, impact and affected controls.
05Reopen
Targeted ARIA, temporary restriction or human re-clearance.
Operational bridge: ARIA searches before deployment for combinations that should not work. Vigilance should detect in operation trajectories that were not part of authorised behaviour.
GOVERNED BASELINE
Normal behaviour cannot be learned blindly.
A baseline that automatically absorbs every novelty may normalise errors or gradual attacks. The reference must be versioned and bounded, and its update requires evidence and approval.
ReferenceVersion, capabilities, expected sequences, frequency, context, resources and human control points.
ProtectionMaterial deviations are not absorbed as “normal” without review.
MaterialityNot every anomaly blocks. Response depends on impact, authority, reversibility and evidence.
CROSS-AGENT INTERACTION
Authority can accumulate across a chain.
A commercial, document or financial agent may remain within its individual permissions while the complete trajectory creates a decision, exposure or capability that was never authorised as a whole.
Local permissionEach agent may act within scope and still appear compliant when observed separately.
Global trajectoryVigilance should preserve the order, handoffs, resources and cumulative effect of the complete chain.
Bridge to Portfolio AssuranceCross-agent signals feed review of composite authority, common dependencies and institutional coherence.
RISK-BASED REVALIDATION
The absence of alerts does not make a Clearance permanent.
In addition to responding to change and incidents, Vigilance should trigger periodic reviews. Frequency depends on autonomy, data used, operational scope, rate of change and potential consequences.
CadenceHigher-impact systems require shorter review windows; tightly bounded systems may support longer intervals.
ExpiryEvery Clearance should carry explicit validity conditions and a date or criterion for expiry.
Targeted reviewThe full battery need not always be repeated: controls and tests affected by change, time or available evidence are reopened.
REAL STATUS
Doctrine defined; full automation not yet deployed.
Aegis can currently define triggers, baseline, evidence, owners and re-clearance procedures for controlled pilots. Automated sequence correlation, continuous telemetry and multi-agent detection remain capabilities under construction.
Available nowObservation-plan design, validity conditions, triggers, escalation and change records.
Under constructionContinuous ingestion, trajectory modelling, cross-agent correlation and automated alerts.
Does not promiseA 24/7 SOC, perfect detection, universal blocking or automatic revocation without human judgement.
OPERATING PRINCIPLE
Explore a pilotIf the system stops behaving like the authorised system, the decision must reopen.
Vigilance turns deviation into evidence and evidence into a new assurance decision.