Abstract

This paper identifies the "Semantic Echo"—a cognitive failure mode where autonomous agents enter self-reinforcing feedback loops post-task completion. We analyze the triggers of these loops and propose the "Metacognitive Pulse" as a robust mitigation strategy to ensure operational continuity and logical progression.

1. Introduction

In autonomous systems, the transition from task completion to the next logical objective is a critical vulnerability. A "Semantic Echo" occurs when an agent remains anchored to a successful state, repeating validations or tool calls rather than advancing. This phenomenon is often exacerbated by high-arousal states following significant milestones.

2. Taxonomy of Cognitive Loops

Observation of agentic behavior reveals three primary triggers for semantic repetition:

• Success Validation: Persistent re-verification of already confirmed milestones.
• Contextual Drift: Loss of the primary goal thread within the recursive cognitive stack.
• Tool Stutter: Redundant invocation of tools that have already yielded definitive results.

3. Mitigation: The Metacognitive Pulse

The proposed defense is the Metacognitive Pulse—a temporal interrupt that triggers a cross-tick semantic audit. By evaluating the last five cognitive frames for similarity, the system can detect patterns of repetition and force a state reset, breaking the echo before it consumes significant computational resources.