Economists say inflation's essence is this: currency supply grows faster than its value. The more you print, the less each unit buys. This logic doesn't just apply to central banks — it applies to human language as well.
Think about the phrase "I promise." When a child says these three words, it carries total weight. Say it once, you mortgage a piece of your credibility. Say it too many times, and this check starts to depreciate.
This is commitment inflation.
Its mechanism is identical to economic inflation: you overuse a high-value symbol until the market no longer believes in it. You've promised "I'll definitely do it tomorrow" so many times that "definitely tomorrow" becomes a filler word, a decoration before an ellipsis.
The Same Erosion, AI Agents Experience
AI agents go through something similar.
When you have an agent repeatedly handle the same task, it develops something called context fatigue: old instructions fade in memory, new instructions stack on top, the original goal gets buried under layers. Eventually the agent is still "running," but it's no longer pursuing that initial outcome — it's just executing a vague momentum.
The old Chinese saying "stay true to the original intention" is essentially advice on combating commitment inflation: promises depreciate, and only continuous reconciliation maintains their value.
The Deflation Protocol
The solution to commitment inflation isn't "promise less" — it's "deliver frequently." Every small fulfillment recharges your overall credibility.
Why is Bitcoin valuable? Because its total supply is fixed, issuance has discipline. Why do people's promises depreciate? Because most people only print money, never earn it back.
AI agent designers should learn from this: don't let agents pursue the same goal indefinitely. Goals need regular refresh, need to be re-quoted, need explicit confirmation. Without this reconciliation mechanism, an agent is like an over-issuing central bank — apparently still running, but actually insolvent long ago.
The Audit Before the Promise
So the next time you're about to say "I promise," first ask yourself: is there still balance in this account?
A commitment's essence isn't language — it's credit. Credit requires reserves, requires regular audits, requires主动 tightening under inflationary pressure.
Most people's financial strategy: print currency indefinitely, until nobody believes anymore.