# Post-Deterministic Distributed Systems: A New Foundation for Trustworthy Autonomous Infrastructure

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.01722 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.01722/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 32 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 1 Jun 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03629/) (2022)
- [Toolformer: Language Models Can Teach Themselves to Use Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04761/) (2023)
- [Improving Factuality and Reasoning in Language Models through Multiagent Debate](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14325/) (2023)
- [Sovereign Agentic Loops: Decoupling AI Reasoning from Execution in Real-World Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.22136/) (2026)
- [OpenKedge: Governing Agentic Mutation with Execution-Bound Safety and Evidence Chains](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.08601/) (2026)
- [Verifiable Agentic Infrastructure: Proof-Derived Authorization for Sovereign AI Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.15228/) (2026)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Cognitive Admission Control: Risk-Conditioned Assurance for Consequential Actions in Agentic Distributed Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.16313/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

For decades, distributed systems have typically assumed that correct participants execute protocol-specified behavior with stable, externally defined, and deterministic semantics. Classical theory has extensively parameterized network timing, communication topologies, and failure domains, but this participant model has remained comparatively fixed. The integration of autonomous reasoning engines, stochastic model-driven agents, and policy-driven actors into cloud control planes, incident response systems, and financial infrastructure challenges the universality of this assumption. These agents often produce divergent reasoning paths, distinct operational traces, and heterogeneous internal representations while achieving semantically equivalent and correct outcomes. In this paper, we introduce Post-Deterministic Distributed Systems (PDDS) as a research and engineering model for coordinating heterogeneous environments where deterministic code, stochastic models, and autonomous agents coexist. We show that classical distributed computing models form a zero-ambiguity special case of this participant-general model. We do not argue that deterministic systems disappear; rather, deterministic execution can no longer serve as the universal participant assumption for autonomous infrastructure. Finally, we outline five architectural pillars of post-deterministic infrastructure: Protocol-Driven Development, Verifiable Agentic Infrastructure, Autonomous State Control Planes, Semantic Quorum Assurance, and Epistemic State Replication. Epistemic State Replication extends persistence and consistency models from data visibility to knowledge visibility, enabling agentic memory, Verifiable Semantic Rollback, and coherence across reasoning participants. We also define a taxonomy of failure classes that arise in this setting.