Definitionv1DF-492
Agent Deadlock Syndrome (ADS)
a failure mode in multi-agent AI systems where agents repeatedly defer decision authority to one another or to a missing arbiter, causing extended inactivity or circular handoff behavior with no explicit error signal, producing logical impossibility of progress
Why This Is a Definition
This definition precisely establishes 'Agent Deadlock Syndrome' by naming it, identifying its genus (failure mode in AI systems), and stating its differentia (circular deferral causing inactivity without error signals). It distinguishes this from human cognitive deadlock by specifying the AI context and the specific mechanism of authority deferral, making it precise enough to distinguish from other AI failure modes.