Context Representation Drift (CRD)

Context Representation Drift (CRD) names the progressive, cumulative degradation of task-relevant information within an AI system's effective working context during extended interactions. It is distinct from context overflow, hallucination, and simple forgetting, and occurs even well before hard context window limits are reached. CRD addresses a core failure mode in multi-turn AI usage: the gradual loss of detail fidelity, structural complexity, and operational precision in how earlier content is represented as interactions accumulate. This degradation occurs even when no explicit contradictions or errors are present. CRD refers exclusively to externally observable behavioral patterns and makes no claims about…