Networked LLMs: Definition, Reference Architecture, and Governance Primitives

This paper introduces the concept of Networked LLM systems as a new analytical and architectural unit for understanding how large language models interact through shared semantic environments. While current discourse treats LLMs primarily as standalone agents or tools, real-world deployments increasingly connect models through retrieval, quotation, reference, and persistent content. These interactions create what we term semantic recirculation: a condition where model outputs re-enter the system as future inputs across time and across agents. We argue that once semantic recirculation is present, LLM systems exhibit network-level dynamics that cannot be understood by analyzing individual models in isolation. Drawing an analogy to coupled oscillator theory, we describe how such systems may gradually move from loosely coupled behavior toward stronger forms of synchronization. To address this shift, the paper provides: A formal definition of Networked LLM systems A reference architecture for what constitutes a node in such a system A governance principle based on admissibility rather than correction or optimization A framework for geometric observability of network state independent of semantic interpretation The proposed architecture separates human-facing and network-facing interaction loops, introduces an admissibility arbiter, and treats nodes as agent projections of underlying LLM manifolds rather than as models alone. This work does not describe an implementation or a specific platform. Instead, it provides a conceptual and architectural framework intended to guide future LLM deployments as networked interaction becomes the norm rather than the exception.