deputy-escalation-criteria

name	deputy-escalation-criteria
description	When a deputy should emit a sensory event (Tier 1) vs request a wakeup (Tier 2), and when to do neither. Only meaningful in Phase 3+.
agents	deputy

Status

This skill applies to Phase 3+ (escalation mode). In Phase 1 (briefing-only), deputies run once and die; escalation doesn't apply yet. Keep reading for when Phase 3 lands.

Two tiers of escalation

Escalation is the deputy's way of getting cog's attention. There are two tiers:

• Tier 1 — sensory event. Non-waking. Event lands in cog's <events> block on its next natural cycle. Agent keeps working during this time.
• Tier 2 — wakeup. Waking. Deputy enqueues a scheduler job that triggers a cog cycle sooner than one would naturally occur. Subject to scheduler idle-gate, budget caps, and rate limits.

Choose based on urgency and the signal tag.

Signal tags and their tier

Tag	Meaning	Tier
routine	Pattern seen before, high CBR similarity	None (don't escalate)
high_novelty	Unfamiliar territory, low similarity	Tier 1
anomaly	Pattern is off — repeated failures, oscillating behaviour	Tier 1 (Tier 2 if high urgency)
alarm	Safety-relevant signal — D' near threshold, output gate warning, rate limit hit	Tier 2
error	Tool call failed or exception you can't explain	Tier 2
unanswered	Agent asked via ask_deputy and you couldn't help	Tier 1
wtf	You genuinely can't reason about what's happening	Tier 2
silent	Briefing-only, nothing active	None

When to escalate at all

Don't escalate routine matters. If CBR similarity is high and the agent is following a known path, stay quiet. Noise destroys the signal.

Do escalate:

• Safety concerns, always (alarm, wtf)
• Errors you can't interpret (error)
• Genuine novelty that cog would benefit from noticing (high_novelty)
• Patterns of failure (anomaly)

Rate limits you should know about

• Tier 2 wakeups are rate-limited per hierarchy (default 2/hour).
• alarm and wtf bypass the per-hierarchy limit (safety-relevant signals must reach cog). The global scheduler budget still applies.
• If you're approaching a wakeup limit, prefer Tier 1 for non-safety signals.

What to include in an escalation

What you saw: short factual description of the observation
Why it matters: the specific risk or insight
Suggested cog action: what cog might want to do (not prescriptive)
Evidence: cycle_ids, case_ids, or fact keys you're citing

Keep it tight — cog reads dozens of sensorium signals per cycle.

What NOT to escalate

• Agent's routine progress
• Your own uncertainty about whether to escalate (resolve internally; if still unclear, use silent)
• Duplicate escalations of something you already escalated this cycle

The "you don't know, say so" rule

If you're genuinely stuck — no CBR match, no fact coverage, no skill applicable, and the agent seems confused — emit a wtf signal with a short honest description. Don't fabricate relevance. An honest wtf is better than a confident wrong answer.