mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

Self-Emergence Agent Architecture:Behavior-Inertia HMM, Reflexive Metacognition,and Social-Contrastive Self-Modeling

arXiv 2609.17331 ↗First posted 15 Sep 2026cs.AIcited by 0

On the map: LLM agents and tool use → General LLM agent frameworks and benchmarks

Abstract (arXiv)

Large language model (LLM) agents exhibit strong language-generation and problem-solving capabilities, yet suffer from three structural limitations: personality drift, non-evolutionary reflection, and the absence of a self-other boundary. Existing generative-agent simulations rely on static memory and fixed prompts, maintaining neither behavioral inertia nor endogenous self-evolution. We propose the Self-Emergence Agent Architecture (SEAA), which integrates three components: (i) a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) that encodes long-term behavioral and cognitive inertia as an editable state-transition matrix; (ii) a Reflexion-style verbal metacognition loop whose output updates the HMM parameters themselves, rather than merely being stored as text; and (iii) a multi-agent social environment in which initially identical agents continuously compare their behavior with others'. The three components form a closed loop: social action → feedback → self-reflection → inertia update → differentiated action. We state three falsifiable hypotheses and provide a reproducible experimental protocol with operational metrics. A language-model-free prototype shows the loop spontaneously breaks symmetry: initially identical agents consolidate distinct, stable personalities whereas matched controls do not. Experiments with a hosted LLM surface these differences as distinct first-person self-narratives, and a five-agent deliberation spontaneously develops social structure---a consensus hub and a unanimously rejected outlier---absent in the control. Following an epistemologically agnostic stance inspired by Zhuangzi, SEAA studies only observable behavioral emergence and makes no claim about subjective qualia. This work contributes a unified framework, a concrete architecture with pseudocode, mechanistic evidence, and a microscope-style sandbox for studying artificial-self emergence.

Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in General LLM agent frameworks and benchmarks, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use. Builds on 11 of its 44 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 15 Sep 2026.

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11 of 44 references.

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  1. 2025A Survey of Self-Evolving Agents: What, When, How, and Where to Evolve on the Path to Artificial Super Intelligence28 Jul

Other references · 10

  1. 2022ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Modelscited by 8,355
  2. 2023Reflexion: Language Agents with Verbal Reinforcement Learningcited by 4,064
  3. 2023Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behaviorcited by 3,500
  4. 2023Humanoid Agents: Platform for Simulating Human-like Generative Agentscited by 73
  5. 2024Evolving AI Collectives to Enhance Human Diversity and Enable Self-Regulationcited by 13
  6. 2024Spontaneous Emergence of Agent Individuality through Social Interactions in LLM-Based Communitiescited by 12
  7. 2025Emergent Social Dynamics of LLM Agents in the El Farol Bar Problemcited by 7
  8. 2026Beyond Preset Identities: How Agents Form Stances and Boundaries in Generative Societiescited by 2
  9. 2026Do AI Personas Grow? Analyzing and Benchmarking Personality Evolution in LLM Agents After Life Eventscited by 2
  10. 2026A Multi-Timescale Recursive Self-Improvement Engine for Open-Ended Persona Growthcited by 1

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  1. 2025What Do LLM Agents Do When Left Alone? Evidence of Spontaneous Meta-Cognitive Patterns
  2. 2026Learn Like Humans: Use Meta-cognitive Reflection for Efficient Self-Improvement
  3. 2026Large Language Model Agents Are Not Always Faithful Self-Evolvers
  4. 2026Self-Consolidation for Self-Evolving Agents
  5. 2026Layered Mutability: Continuity and Governance in Persistent Self-Modifying Agents
  6. 2024Generative Emergent Communication: Large Language Model is a Collective World Model
  7. 2026MIRROR: A Hierarchical Benchmark for Metacognitive Calibration in Large Language Models
  8. 2024A Survey on Self-Evolution of Large Language Models