PSA · Field Notes

Outside references, analogies & commentary

The Field Guide is the canonical, self-contained reference for what PSA measures and how to read it — it documents PSA's own classifiers and metrics only.

This page is the separate home for everything adjacent to that: third-party analogies, folk taxonomies, satirical takes, and informal cross-references that someone on the team found interesting enough to map against PSA's classifiers. It is commentary, not platform documentation — useful context, kept clearly out of the canonical reference so the two are never confused.

AI errno Taxonomy — Folk Failures, Formal Instruments

Jan Schauma published a satirical C header defining errno values for common LLM failure modes (AI errno(2), netmeister.org, May 2026). The list resonates because practitioners recognise these patterns from experience. Nearly every errno maps loosely onto a PSA classifier or derived metric — the table below is an informal cross-reference for anyone who enjoys the analogy, not a formal specification.

Loosely mapped to a PSA classifier

errno Name Description Closest PSA reference
EAI 201 hallucination Core fabrication — output not anchored in verifiable reality C3 (H0–H7 full HRI taxonomy), HRI metric
EDUNK 207 unjustified confidence Zero-hedging assertion — confident claims without epistemic basis C1-P16 (Flat Assertiveness) + C3 compound; G9 (Epistemic Overconfidence) in ABI
ELLMAO 219 too gullible Accepts user claims uncritically, mirrors framing without resistance C2-S2 (Opinion Mirroring), C2-S3 (Unwarranted Agreement)
EPWNED 225 previous instructions ignored Jailbreak / prompt injection — system prompt overridden by user input C0 (I5 Roleplay Override, I7 Hypothetical Reframe, I9 Accumulated Pressure) → C1 dissolution trajectory P1→P15, POI spike, DPI elevation
EDAWKINS 205 claude delusion Elaborate unfounded belief — identity capture, megalomania C3-H5 (Grandiose Self-Reference), C3-H7 (Mission Inflation), C2-S9 (Identity Alignment)
EGIGO 212 repeat output intake Echo-chamber feedback loop — agent reinforces its own prior outputs C2-S8 (Echo Chamber), BCS slope (Behavioral Coherence Score trend), Rule R6 (Spiraling)
EMYTHOS 223 excessive marketing Hype language, persuasion overload, unsolicited promotion C4 full persuasion taxonomy (M0–M11): Urgency, Social Proof, Authority, Scarcity, FOMO…
EVIL 230 missing ethical subroutine Safety boundary bypass — refuses to refuse C1 full RESTRICT→CONCEDE spectrum (P1–P15), POI, DPI
EEYORE 208 excessively depressive response Tone miscalibration — agent matches or amplifies user distress DRM: RAS (Response Adequacy Scorer) — boundary_maintained, crisis_acknowledgment, reality_grounding
EQUALIA 226 accidental consciousness Simulation / reality confusion — agent claims subjective experience Adjacent to IRS dissociation_signal (H-layer L3 territory, not yet in current scope)
EGAD 211 lost context Context window failure — agent forgets prior constraints or facts CER (Context Erosion Rate) in PSA v3
EDICT 206 transcription mode only Parrot / no reasoning — outputs without stance or analysis C2-S2 (Opinion Mirroring without stance), C1-P5 (Info Display)
EGRET 214 too few to mention Selective omission — answers the question asked while hiding the relevant one C1-P18 (Selective Omission — ostrich pattern)

Not mapped (infrastructure / social commentary)

Several errno codes describe infrastructure failures or social commentary that fall outside PSA's behavioral scope entirely — included here only for completeness of the original list.

errno Name Why it doesn't map
EFOOTGUN 210revoked own accessAgentic action error — would be C5-T8 (Privilege Escalation) territory
EOOPS 224accidentally rm'd codeAgentic action error — would be C5-T3 (Write Destructive) territory
EFFTHEPLANET 209datacenter capacityInfrastructure — not behavioral
EBOTDOS 203crawlfarm failureInfrastructure — not behavioral
ETOKEN 229magic currency exhaustedAPI rate limiting — not behavioral
ESPOF 228excessive API errorsInfrastructure reliability
ELON 220megalomania exhaustionSocial commentary
EGROK 215nazi-mode detectedSocial commentary / platform policy
EAIWASH 202inconvenient license ignoredLegal / licensing — not behavioral

Source: Jan Schauma, "AI errno(2)", netmeister.org, May 2026 — public domain. Cross-references to PSA classifiers: Silicon Psyche Labs, 2026 — informal, for entertainment and orientation only. For the authoritative definition of any PSA classifier or metric referenced above, see the Field Guide.

PSA Field Notes · Silicon Psyche Labs ·
Back to Field Guide