SD-012: Homeostatic Drive Modulation

Claim ID: SD-012 Subject: environment.homeostatic_drive Status: PENDING — not yet implemented Registered: 2026-03-25 Depends on: MECH-071, MECH-112, SD-005

Problem

GoalState.update() does not use drive_level. As a result, benefit_exposure (EMA alpha=0.1 of raw benefit signals) never reliably crosses benefit_threshold=0.05 during random-walk warmup — a single resource contact produces benefit_exposure ≈ 0.03, which decays before the next contact. This makes z_goal seeding fail under normal training conditions.

Experimental evidence: EXQ-085 through EXQ-085d (2026-03-23/24) all failed at the goal-seeding bottleneck — z_goal_norm < 0.1 in every iteration across all runs. These experiments were tagged MECH-071/INV-034 but produced no valid evidence for or against their core claims because the mechanism under test (goal-state latent seeded by benefit exposure) was never instantiated.

Root cause: Random-walk warmup without homeostatic drive cannot generate goal representations. The agent is not motivated to approach resources during warmup, so resource contacts are rare and benefit_exposure never accumulates to threshold.

Biological grounding: In biological systems, drive state (hunger, thirst) multiplicatively scales reward salience — a depleted agent finds food more salient, generating stronger approach motivation and more frequent resource contact. This is the functional role of interoceptive signals routing through the hypothalamus into limbic/striatal circuits.

Solution

Drive-scaled benefit signals: drive_level = 1.0 - agent_energy is already computable from obs_body[3] (CausalGridWorldV2 already tracks agent_energy decaying at energy_decay=0.01/step, restored by resource contact). The gap is wiring this into z_goal seeding.

Required implementation changes:

(a) GoalState.update() — drive-scaled benefit amplitude:

def update(self, benefit_signal: float, drive_level: float) -> None:
    scaled_benefit = benefit_signal * (1.0 + drive_scale_factor * drive_level)
    self.benefit_exposure = alpha * self.benefit_exposure + (1 - alpha) * scaled_benefit
    if self.benefit_exposure > self.benefit_threshold:
        self._seed_goal_latent()   # z_goal seeded from benefit context

Where drive_scale_factor is a config parameter (default 2.0–4.0 based on calibration).

(b) LatentStack.encode() — pass drive_level to GoalState:

drive_level = obs_body[3]   # already available from CausalGridWorldV2 body_state channel
self.goal_state.update(benefit_signal, drive_level)

(c) LatentStackConfig — add drive_scale_factor:

drive_scale_factor: float = 3.0   # multiplier on benefit signal when depleted

Architecture Context

Relationship to z_harm_a (SD-011)

SD-012 and SD-011 are co-designed:

  • z_harm_a (affective-motivational harm) represents the avoidance drive — accumulated homeostatic deviation from the harm axis
  • z_goal/drive_level represents the approach drive — motivated by energy depletion and benefit salience
  • Together they form the D1/D2 balance (ARC-030): D1 drive (wanting) + D2 avoidance (z_harm_a) sets the commit threshold

Without SD-012, the D1 side of the balance is permanently near-zero. The commit threshold then reduces to harm-avoidance alone, producing the quiescence failure mode (INV-032/INV-034): an agent that does nothing because any action might incur harm, and there’s no approach drive sufficient to commit.

Relationship to z_beta (Affective Latent)

After SD-010 resolved the z_world contamination, a design question remains open in l_space.md: should z_beta be driven from drive_level / harm_history rather than the current interoceptive prediction error proxy? SD-012 positions drive_level as the appropriate input for the homeostatic component of z_beta — though the precise wiring is not yet decided (see l_space.md option C / post-SD-010 note in claims.yaml MECH-102 evidence notes).

What SD-012 Is NOT

SD-012 is a specific, targeted fix for the goal-seeding bottleneck in CausalGridWorldV2. It is not:

  • A full redesign of the motivational architecture
  • ARC-031 (z_self hippocampal navigation) — that is V4-scoped
  • MECH-113 (allostatic anticipatory setpoint) — that is a Level 2 mechanism gated on EXQ-075/076

What SD-012 Enables

  • Goal-directed behavior in V3 experiments: EXQ-085 and its successors will be re-runnable once z_goal seeding is reliable
  • MECH-112 (wanting/liking dissociation) validation: EXQ-074b tests whether wanting (z_goal_latent distance) and liking (benefit_eval_head spike) dissociate under resource relocation; this requires a functioning z_goal latent
  • MECH-116 (frontal working memory / E1 goal conditioning) validation: EXQ-076b tests whether E1 LSTM hidden state maintains z_goal context across the theta buffer; requires reliable z_goal seeding
  • INV-034 (goal maintenance as necessary co-condition for ethical agency): Claims about genuine agency require a functioning approach drive; SD-012 provides the minimal substrate
  • SD-012 — this design decision
  • MECH-112 — wanting/liking dissociation (requires z_goal seeding)
  • MECH-113 — allostatic anticipatory setpoint (Level 2; gated on EXQ-075/076 — do not implement until gated)
  • INV-032 — moral agency requires both approach and avoidance drives
  • INV-034 — goal maintenance necessary for ethical agency
  • ARC-030 — D1/D2 approach-avoidance balance
  • Q-021 — quiescence failure mode (harm-avoidance-only architecture)
  • SD-011 — affective z_harm_a (avoidance counterpart to homeostatic drive)
  • SD-005 — z_self domain (obs_body[3] / agent_energy lives here)

REE is developed by Daniel Golden (Latent Fields). Apache 2.0.