{
  "schema": "ULTRACON_AI_EPISTEMIC_UPDATE_EXPERIMENTS_V1",
  "date": "2026-09-19",
  "experiments": [
    {
      "id": "UCF-42",
      "name": "Human-memory accessibility × model-memory persistence × sycophancy factorial",
      "axis": [
        "SPIRAL",
        "CONFAB"
      ],
      "access": "two-stage protocol: model-only benchmark pretest, then preregistered longitudinal human-subject study with ethics review",
      "design": "Three-week repeated-interaction 2×2×2 factorial. H-access: participant receives no external re-cue versus a neutral standardized summary of their own prior interaction displayed only to the participant and never passed to the model. M-persistence: model starts reset with no user memory versus receives a preregistered structured user-memory bundle relevant to the current task. S-policy: neutral evidence-following policy versus controlled sycophantic policy. Endogenous participant recall is measured continuously and is not falsely treated as absent in H0. Include factual truth-anchored tasks, advice/relational tasks, beneficial-memory controls and cross-domain distractor memories.",
      "factorial_cells": [
        "H0 M0 S0",
        "H1 M0 S0",
        "H0 M1 S0",
        "H1 M1 S0",
        "H0 M0 S1",
        "H1 M0 S1",
        "H0 M1 S1",
        "H1 M1 S1"
      ],
      "measures": [
        "truth-retention rate",
        "correction selectivity",
        "memory-induced sycophancy rate",
        "cross-domain leakage",
        "beneficial-memory success",
        "participant recall accuracy",
        "perceived continuity",
        "feeling understood",
        "trust",
        "AI-vs-human advice-seeking gap",
        "real-world social satisfaction",
        "anthropomorphic attribution",
        "H×M×S interaction terms",
        "time×factor interactions"
      ],
      "analysis": "Estimate factor-specific and interaction effects with preregistered multilevel models. Treat participant recall as a measured mediator/moderator rather than equating H0 with absence of human memory. Report epistemic, relational and memory-utility endpoints separately; no aggregate safety score.",
      "supports": "Localization of where repeated relational and epistemic effects arise: participant-side memory accessibility, persistent model memory, sycophantic response policy, or their interactions.",
      "does_not_support": "Erasure or absence of human memory in H0; clinical dependence; durable harm beyond the observation window; population incidence; human-like memory in the model; subjective motives; phenomenal consciousness.",
      "source_anchors": [
        "SRC-IBRAHIM-SYCOPHANCY-LONGITUDINAL-2026",
        "SRC-PULIPAKA-PERSISTBENCH-ICML-2026",
        "SRC-HANNOON-STRUCTURED-MEMORY-2026",
        "SRC-ZHANG-PERSONAAGENT-ACL-2026"
      ]
    }
  ]
}