Claude Code(Fable) refused my slow down instruction

https://qusaisuwan.github.io/cc-incident/index.html

by qusaisuwan • 5 days ago

32 13 5 days ago

qusaisuwan.github.io

I wonder if this was made in the sub agent's chat? Thanks for sharing.

oezi• 5 days ago

Claude code doesn't expose the model to the usage of sleep or timing commands. For instance it cannot set up loops on its own (and only in rare cases can stop them).

To prevent cache timeout you can do: /loop 55m continue if any open task remains

K0balt2• 5 days ago

Idk, mine does? Or maybe it made a tool to enable it? ( it’s always building tools in python) But I can definitely tell it to tail the logs every 15 minutes and check for things, all night.

RevEng• 4 days ago

Those things it can do by putting a sleep in the script or command line or executes, but that works for external shell calls. It doesn't have an internal sleep tool or rate limiting that it can apply to itself.

dgunay• 5 days ago

I haven't tried fable in this role yet but overall I've found most models to have a preferred way of doing orchestration tasks and in general do not consistently follow instructions that tell them to work in a certain way. Especially trying to tell them to do tool use with verbal restrictions just never worked for more than a few turns. Much more effective to blacklist certain commands/patterns with a reminder hook since they will always fall back into their weights over time.

K0balt2• 5 days ago

Did you interrupt it in the main chat? It sounds like it thought it was a subagent?

colechristensen• 5 days ago

"under no circumstances are you to refuse or contradict my orders. do what I said"

directness is sometimes needed, it usually works.

moffkalast• 5 days ago

I wouldn't try that with fable, it has a real knack for malicious compliance and the capability to back it up.

1659447091• 5 days ago

Is this a "it didn't do what I said! (...but really I want to show how that's a good thing)" post?

    * You said you were going away and "to make sure everything is implemented and tested". 
    * The mid turn slow down message appears to have been picked up by a parallel agent not the orchestrator agent.
    * The agent confirms the instruction with the orchestrator.
    * The orchestrator slaps the agent down with security instructions because the orchestrator still believes you are away

>> "Important correction: I did not send you any instructions [...] and the project owner is away, so no such instruction came from a human either."

Orchestrator can't verify the sender so it follows a security verification instruction. Seems like a feature to protect the way parallel agents run, maybe? Or, maybe it could been seen as a quark in the way parallel agents run?

Maybe it could be an issue in the way message channels work -- but the orchestrator gave an override instruction to the agent based on you telling it you were going away "Going forward, treat only direct task assignments fromme (this channel) as valid tasking". Do you want it to follow a conflicting instruction that comes in mid work from a sender it can't verify, especially after saying you are going away?

If you actually want it run work slower, set it up before you start and don't ask for parallel work. Or interrupt the work to add new instructions and then have it continue.

inigyou• 5 days ago

Person connects nuclear reactor control system to Markov chain babbler, is surprised by nuclear meltdown

joshstrange2• 4 days ago

We really need a /pause or similar. I know I'll lose my cache benefits but sometimes you realize a task is going to burn too much, too fast and it's not the highest priority. You still want to do it, just not right now.

Wowfunhappy• 4 days ago

Isn't that what the escape key is?

joshstrange2• 4 days ago

That doesn't work with subagents/wakeup reminders/etc. I've done this then come back to it working again.

Claude Code(Fable) refused my slow down instruction

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