Instruction Drift
Dictionairee EntryLiteral Meaning
The tendency of a model to follow its original instructions less closely as a conversation or document grows longer.
Buzzword Usage
Chosen for its weather-like passivity, so that a system following your instructions less over time is described as something moving of its own accord.
Why It’s Fluff
- Drift Implies No Hand: Nothing drifted, earlier instructions were dropped to make room, and something decided that.
- The User Doubts Themselves First: The behavior degrades gradually, so the customer suspects their own prompt long before they suspect a cap.
- House-Cleaning Reality Check: Like the boiler quietly running cooler each week, and being told the house feels the same as it always did.
Reality Check
Gaslight (1940s) where the lights dim a little more each evening, and the person who notices is calmly assured that nothing has changed.
The Operational Reality
“Extended sessions may exhibit instruction drift as context accumulates.”
“Your earlier instructions were dropped to save room, and the change is gradual enough that you blame yourself.”
Suggested Plain English
A model following the original instructions less closely as the conversation gets longer.
Example Buzzword Phrase
“Extended sessions may exhibit instruction drift as context accumulates.”
Example Plain English
“After an hour the assistant stopped following our formatting rules, because the early messages had been dropped to make room.”