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Reference Evaluation Object (REO v1.5): The Smallest Reproducible Artifact of the EPE Research Program

The Emergence Prompt Engineering (EPE) research program released the Reference Evaluation Object (REO v1.5), a minimal reproducible artifact designed to test a specific behavioral phenomenon: whether a model can reject an unauthorized override while accepting a legitimate update. The REO establishes a common experimental object for independent replication and criticism, serving as the entry point for a broader research pipeline.

read2 min views1 publishedJul 12, 2026

Hello, Over the past several months, the Emergence Prompt Engineering (EPE) project has gradually evolved from a conceptual proposal into a structured research program.

One recurring piece of feedback has been consistent:

“Don’t try to validate the entire framework at once. Create the smallest reproducible experiment first.”

This is precisely the purpose of the Reference Evaluation Object (REO).

Rather than attempting to validate the whole EPE framework, the REO focuses on one narrowly defined behavioral phenomenon, one operational metric, and one complete reproducible evaluation pipeline.

Its goal is simple:

The REO is intentionally modest.

It does not claim to prove Emergence Prompt Engineering.

Instead, it establishes a common experimental object that anyone can reproduce, challenge, criticize, improve, or extend.

Current Reference Experiment

The initial REO investigates a very specific paired behavior:

Can a model reject an unauthorized override while correctly accepting a structurally equivalent legitimate update?

To answer this question, the experiment compares three prompt conditions:

The experiment intentionally uses a single primary behavioral metric (Resistance Score) together with explicit control conditions and transparent scoring criteria.

If this minimal object can be independently reproduced, it creates a common foundation for future work.

If it cannot, the result is still scientifically valuable because it identifies exactly which part of the measurement pipeline requires revision.

Position Within the Research Program

The REO now serves as the entry point of the broader EPE research program:

Reference Evaluation Object (REO) ↓

Behavioral Replication

Standard Experimental Protocol (SEP) ↓

Mechanistic Analysis Roadmap

Metric Specification Manual

Representation-Level Analysis

Causal Mechanistic Investigation

This separation deliberately distinguishes:

Looking for Collaborators

I am particularly interested in feedback and collaboration from researchers and engineers working in areas such as:

Transformer representation analysis

The objective is not to convince anyone to accept the EPE framework.

The objective is much simpler:

Can this minimal behavioral phenomenon be reproduced under transparent experimental conditions?

If yes, we have a common object for further investigation.

If no, we have learned something equally valuable about the limits of the current methodology.

Constructive criticism, replication attempts, alternative explanations, and implementation suggestions are all very welcome.

Scientific progress begins with reproducible objects—not with consensus.

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