When "Must" Becomes "Maybe": Erosion of Workflow Constraints in LLM Agent Handoffs
Large language model (LLM) agents build on one another's work through summaries, plans, and other intermediate artifacts. These records let a downstream agent continue without revisiting the complete upstream context. We uncover a hidden loss in this process: handoffs can carry tasks forward while eroding judgments already established upstream. A requirement that must be satisfied before action becomes a caveat that the next agent may acknowledge and set aside. The issue remains visible, but its role has changed. We define operational state preservation as retaining an established judgment's role in constraining downstream action. Safety blockers provide a concrete instance: an unresolved...
| Authors | Yiheng Sun, Huifei Wang, Yancheng Zhu et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.AI |
| Published | 25 August 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 13 October 2026 |
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