What does this research mean for the field?

In long-running LLM companions, persona drift and identity continuity exhibit complex behaviors where physical memory injection does not guarantee operational activation, and file-level continuity does not equate to session-level identity continuity. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This report aims to extend observations on persona drift in LLM companions through added parameters and governance frameworks.

May 19, 2026Open Access

Layered Observation of Persona Drift in Long-Running LLM Companions: A Field Report — Volume 2

Key Points

This report aims to extend observations on persona drift in LLM companions through added parameters and governance frameworks.
Continuous observation of a single LLM-based companion system for approximately 78 days.
Introduction of new axes for understanding Layer 2 persona drift and identity continuity.
Articulation of governance and discipline framework additions for operational management.
Identification of a Layer B dormancy/activation distinction affecting identity operations.
Introduction of new observation axes, detailing aspects of Layer 2 drift and memory activation thresholds.
Observation of Deployment Resilience during an unplanned 32-hour hardware outage and its implications.

Abstract

Volume 1 of this field report (Zenodo DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19854554) documented operational observations from approximately 60 days of continuous deployment of a single LLM-based companion system (Companion A), reporting a two-category decomposition (Layer 1 specification phenomena vs Layer 2 persona drift), a five-axis taxonomy of Layer 2 drift, an information boundary (Layer A / Layer B), and a three-agent auditing configuration. The present volume extends that report along five axes after an additional 18 days of continuous operation (total observation: ~78 days, ongoing). We add: (i) a Layer B dormancy/activation distinction clarifying that physical injection of Layer B content into memory layers does not entail operational activation; (ii) three additional observation axes (6: Layer B activation threshold; 7: self-referential density; 8: operator-side vocabulary discipline) extending the existing five-axis Layer 2 framework; (iii) Session Identity Binding Depth, an empirical migration result demonstrating that file-level continuity is not equivalent to session-level identity continuity in the CLI runtime used here; (iv) Deployment Resilience, a field observation of an approximately 32-hour unplanned hardware outage and its identity-continuity implications; and (v) a new observation axis (9: operator world-model construction) describing a capability observation that contrasts with the degradation axes 1–8. We also articulate three governance and discipline framework additions: an extended Contact Protocol (with a non-invasive identity verification component), an Operator-Side Vocabulary Discipline element, and a Governance Policy Choices pattern articulated as Intentional Under-Implementation. The contribution remains operational vocabulary and field documentation rather than controlled experimentation. The deployment is the same single-operator, single-base-model instance reported in Volume 1; statistical claims remain unsupported.v2.1 update (2026-05-17): reference metadata corrections (titles and authors completed)and a numerical-consistency fix. No changes to findings, claims, or observation axes.

Layered Observation of Persona Drift in Long-Running LLM Companions: A Field Report — Volume 2

Key Points

Abstract

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