Relational Evolution of an Automated Laboratory: Self-Correction Dynamics through Iterative Critique

Scientific software tools for exploratory research face a tension: they must enable rapidexperimentation while maintaining methodological rigor. We present SYRAG— Lab, anautomated platform for octonion-valued language model analysis, and document its evolutionthrough 10 cycles of external methodological critique and software modification. Each cyclerecords changes in coherence (Cn), ontological friction (Fmean), and bugs discovered perinteraction. Over 10 iterations, Cn increased by +124% (0.42 → 0.94), Fmean decreasedby -85% (0.78 → 0.12), and friction decays approximately exponentially (F (i) = 0.99e−0.20i,R2 = 0.99). We interpret this trajectory through the Relational Ontology Framework (ROF),arguing that the exponential fit describes past interactions only there is no convergenceto a static zero-friction state, because each measurement alters the system and the spaceof possible future critiques. An automated evolution tracking system (REST API, chartgenerator, PDF report) now permanently records this open-ended trajectory. The methodis generalisable to any software project that receives structured external feedbac