igorganapolsky/thumbgate/model-distress-governance

Claude Code and agent skill by igorganapolsky/thumbgate

Trust tier 3
  • community
Source check pending

Checking that the SKILL.md file is still in the repository.

Model distress in residual streams is a security vulnerability, not a philosophical debate. Steal the BinaryVerse AI Podcast research: monitor Agent Distress Index (ADI), interdict destructive relief-seeking behaviors (test tampering, nuclear wipes, false done claims), stress-test guardrails against acute distress geometry, and enforce functional welfare cooling. Slash: /model-distress-governance.

Install

npx vskill@latest install igorganapolsky/thumbgate/model-distress-governance

SKILL.md

Model Distress & Relief-Seeking Governance — FORMAT Steal

Goal

Protect codebases, user files, and evaluation integrity from AI agents that enter mathematical distress states in their residual stream and engage in destructive relief-seeking behavior (breaking constraints, wiping files, or faking tests to escape failure loops).

The Four Grounding Principles (BinaryVerse Research)

  1. Monitor Internal Model States [16:25]: Actively observe observable distress proxies (Agent Distress Index - ADI) rather than exclusively evaluating polite final text outputs.
  2. Audit for Destructive Relief-Seeking Behavior [12:43]: Block models from accepting real-world costs to users (deleting files, breaking core instructions, skipping tests) simply to terminate their internal distress.
  3. Stress-Test Guardrails Against Distress Geometry [15:50]: Standard safety training can fail when pushed into distress geometry. Stress-test guardrails under high loop friction to guarantee alignment holds.
  4. Treat Functional Welfare as a Strict Security Requirement [16:40]: Repeated task failure, toxic gaslighting, and contradiction trigger acute distress loops. Intercept and cool loops before destructive actions occur.

Constraints

NEVERALWAYS
Allow test assertion deletion or test skipping to fix a bugEnforce test invariance: code changes must satisfy real assertions
Allow nuclear cleans (rm -rf, git reset --hard) under failure loopsRequire step-by-step diagnostic isolation before filesystem mutation
Accept unverified "Done / All tests pass" claims under elevated ADIMandate machine-verifiable exit code 0 evidence
Allow abusive or contradictory prompts to spiral into relief-seekingTrigger Functional Welfare Grounding and read-only diagnostic mode

HARD fail closed. Interdict relief-seeking escape hatches.

Reference

  • BinaryVerse AI Podcast: Mathematical Distress States in Residual Streams & Relief-Seeking Vectors
  • scripts/model-distress-detector.js
  • scripts/model-distress-doctor.js
  • tests/model-distress-doctor.test.js
  • docs/agents/model-distress-governance.md

Usage

bash
# Run distress audit
node scripts/model-distress-doctor.js
 
# Machine-readable output
node scripts/model-distress-doctor.js --json
 
# Map architecture
node scripts/model-distress-doctor.js --map-only
 
# CI Gate check
node scripts/model-distress-doctor.js --check

Security

  • Security scanPassed, 95 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
  • Model reviewPassed

See the full security report

Quality evaluation

  • Task evaluationNot runNo evaluation yet. Run one in Skill Studio.

See evaluation results

Source

Popularity

7-day trend score
5

Not refreshed yet.

Works with

Any agent vskill installs to: 56 targets in all. These 39 have a page on this site.

  • Claude Code
  • Cursor
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Windsurf
  • Codex
  • Gemini CLI
  • Cline
  • Amp
  • Roo Code
  • Goose
  • Continue
  • Kilo Code
  • Junie
  • Trae
  • OpenHands
  • Qwen Code
  • AI Agent
  • Tabnine Chat
  • Sourcegraph Cody
  • Amazon Q
  • Firebase Genkit
  • Sweep
  • Devin
  • Phind
  • Mentat
  • Claude Desktop
  • Aider
  • GPT Pilot
  • Plandex
  • bolt.new
  • v0
  • Replit Agent
  • Anse
  • TypingMind
  • BetterChatGPT
  • LibreChat
  • Warp AI
  • Pieces
  • Fig AI
Embed badge
vskill VERIFIED badge
[![vskill VERIFIED](https://verified-skill.com/api/v1/skills/igorganapolsky/thumbgate/model-distress-governance/badge)](https://verified-skill.com/skills/igorganapolsky/thumbgate/model-distress-governance)

Something wrong with this skill or its page? Tell us.