Planet Sensor: Drift Containment Index (Canonical)

Drift Containment Index measures whether a system can keep truth stable as it scales.

When drift containment is weak, the system becomes blind.

Blind systems cannot repair.

They respond, but they don’t fix.

What This Sensor Measures

1. Feedback integrity
   Can bad news travel safely?
2. Metric alignment
   Do numbers match lived reality?
3. Gaming resistance
   How hard is it to fake success?
4. Correction velocity
   How quickly false beliefs are corrected
5. Truth propagation speed
   Does accurate information spread faster than misinformation?

How to Read This Sensor

Healthy signal

Truth is speakable
Feedback loops work
Mistakes are admitted early
Metrics are cross-checkable
Corrections happen quickly
Recurrence declines after corrective action

Danger signal

Self-censorship rises
Bad news is punished
Metrics look great while reality worsens
Appearance management dominates
Misinformation spreads faster than correction
Failures repeat because root causes stay hidden

Thresholds

Level 1: Strong containment

Truth flows, correction is fast, repair is accurate

Level 2: Mostly contained

Some pressure, but correction still works

Level 3: Weak containment

Incentives distort reporting, correction slows

Level 4: Severe drift

Truth becomes unsafe, narratives dominate

Level 5: Reality split

Public narrative and lived reality diverge sharply, repair becomes impossible

Repair Actions

1. Protect truth-tellers
2. Fix incentives (reward accuracy, not appearance)
3. Cross-check metrics with independent channels
4. Shorten correction loops
5. Use recurrence as the final truth test

Links

Planet OS Sensors Directory
https://edukatesg.com/planet-os-sensors/

Civilisation Drift Sensor
https://edukatesg.com/civilisation-sensor-drift/

Recurrence Index
https://edukatesg.com/planet-sensor-recurrence/

Canonical Statement

Drift Containment Index measures truth bandwidth. If truth cannot travel, no higher-layer diagnosis or repair can be trusted.