Meaning Integrity
Semantic Drift
Semantic drift is the gradual change in operational meaning that occurs while labels, terms, or formal representations remain stable.
What It Explains
The problem this framework makes visible.
How organizations continue using the same language while acting from increasingly different interpretations.
System Mechanism
How the failure forms.
A term begins with shared operational meaning.
Local pressures cause actors to interpret it differently.
The same label continues to be used across the system.
Differences remain hidden because the vocabulary appears stable.
Coordination degrades as incompatible meanings produce incompatible action.
Failure Signatures
What an observer would see.
Shared terminology with divergent execution
Frequent clarification despite stable labels
Local reinterpretations accumulating over time
Apparent alignment masking incompatible assumptions