EXP-PROMPT-EVOLUTION-G1

◐ partial

Prompt Evolution G1 — Behavioral Instructions as Genome

2026-04-14 L6 level paper3 6 runs $0.18

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In plain language

Genome = behavioral instructions extracted from G0 survivors. Does instruction inheritance create adaptation?

▶ Technical details

Research hypothesis

Prompt evolution: inherit INSTRUCTIONS, not text. G0 behavioral analysis shows efficient agents average 58 w/t but start at 45 and expand. Extracted rule: "keep contributions under 50 words." EVOLVED condition gets this instruction. CONTROL gets standard prompt. Both budget=400. P1: EVOLVED survives longer (instructions reduce word count → budget lasts). P2: F₀(EVOLVED) different from F₀(CONTROL) — instructions change structure. P3: EVOLVED words/turn < CONTROL (instruction compliance). Kill: EVOLVED same survival as CONTROL → instructions ignored/not actionable.

Experimental setup

Type: multi_condition

Condition	Parameters
EVOLVED	label: Budget 400 + evolved behavioral instructions, interaction: LIVE, persona: IDENTICAL, n_runs: 3
CONTROL	label: Budget 400 + standard prompt, interaction: LIVE, persona: IDENTICAL, n_runs: 3

Parameters

n_agents: 3
n_rounds: 30
model: anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5
temperature: 0.9

prompt-evolution scarcity adaptation genome life-roadmap lewontin