PAT-0230 - Authority Shadowing
A structural condition where a declared authority is functionally overridden by another authority without an explicit override rule.
Primary Lenses
- LEN-0110 - Authority Overlay Lens
Maps declared authority hierarchies onto observed structure to detect absence, override, or conflict.
Secondary Lenses
- LEN-0150 - Conflict Lens
Detects mutually incompatible constraints, claims, states, or declarations that cannot be simultaneously satisfied.
- LEN-0270 - Reconciliation Lens
Evaluates whether structural changes align with declared authority updates, version changes, or reconciliation rules.
Primary Issue Matches
- Hidden Rule Overrides Visible Instruction
A hidden, upstream, system, policy, tool, or product rule changes or overrides the visible instruction the user expects the AI to follow.
Supporting Issue Matches
- Agent Gets Conflicting Tool Authority
An agent receives conflicting authority signals about whether, when, or how it may use a tool, connector, function, or integration.
- Behavior Does Not Match Declared Role
The AI or agent behaves outside, below, or differently from the role, authority, responsibility, or permission posture declared for it.
- Conflicting Instructions From Different Authorities
Instructions from different sources, roles, policies, prompts, tools, or workflow authorities conflict without a clear rule for which one governs.
- Permissions Conflict After Being Combined
Permissions, approvals, roles, policies, or authority rules that seem valid separately conflict when combined in the same workflow or AI action.
- Same Case Has Conflicting Policies
The same case appears to be governed by multiple policies, rules, or standards that point to incompatible outcomes.
- Tool Rules and Prompt Rules Conflict
Tool, connector, function, or MCP rules conflict with prompt instructions, causing the AI or agent to face incompatible requirements.
Ontology Metadata
- Code
PAT-0230- Version
[email protected]- Ontology release
- 0.1.0
- Updated
- 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z
History
-
0.1.0 — 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z — Created
Promoted reviewed Pattern ontology entry: Authority Shadowing.
Receipt impact: None