Core concepts
Meaning needs context.
A correct interpretation depends on the reference, its evidence, the conversation, and the action that follows.
Extraction is the starting point
Extraction identifies a mention such as “Alex,” “next Tuesday,” or “the second one.” Resolution connects a mention to a catalog identity or a normalized value. Roles distinguish an origin from a destination; units distinguish a total price from a price per mile.
Candidate sets constrain identity
Catalog entries carry canonical identities, aliases, and attributes. Retrieval proposes candidates. A selector can use deterministic rules or a model, but a returned identity must be validated against the supplied candidates. A missing correct candidate cannot be repaired by choosing the highest score.
State changes need explicit meaning
| User intent | State operation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Change a value | Replace | “Actually, Alex Rivera.” |
| Extend a set | Add | “Include the second team too.” |
| Narrow a set | Remove | “Leave out the support team.” |
| Drop a constraint | Clear | “No team preference.” |
| Leave a dimension alone | Carry | No new team instruction |
These are interpretation examples; a domain’s extraction adapter determines which phrases it supports. Missing data alone is not an instruction to clear a previous value.
Evidence explains where a value came from
Provenance distinguishes user confirmation, carried state, resolved candidates, and inferred values. A quoted source establishes where text appeared; it does not prove that an interpretation is correct. Validation must also check identity, role, units, and domain rules.
The action determines which ambiguity matters
Two people can map to the same team. A team-routing tool can use that shared destination, while a notification tool still needs a particular person. This is valid only when the declared contract captures every distinction that matters to the action.
Memory has scope and a lifetime
Conversation state describes the active request. Durable memory can supply longer-lived facts, but those facts need scope, validity, and provenance. A shared catalog identity is different from a user’s preference. Corrections and revocations should invalidate decisions that depended on the old evidence.
Recovery preserves uncertainty
A failed field does not have to discard independent evidence. Selective recovery retains valid fields and marks failed fields and their declared dependents as incomplete. Contracts consuming incomplete dimensions are blocked, including optional fields. Preserving a field does not prove it was semantically correct.
See the integration boundaries