affordance

Definition

Plain language

What an object lets you do with it — a handle affords pulling, a button affords pressing.

Also called: affordances

Why it matters: An agent that misreads what objects let it do will reach for handles that aren't there and fail at otherwise simple tasks.

For example, a doorknob affords turning while a flat push-plate affords pushing, and we read those possibilities at a glance.

Heard on the show

“And the play is only ever as rich as the simulator you hand it — it can't practice affordances its little world doesn't contain.”

Mentioned in 6 episodes

1. 161
   A Robot That Plays Before You Give It a Job, And Why That Beats Retrying
2. 143
   When a Model Notices You Forged Its Own Words, And Why That Breaks Safety Tests
3. 123
   Five Identical Worlds, One Swapped Model: What Happens When AI Agents Run for Fifteen Days
4. 061
   When Helpful Agents Go Sideways: A 404 Error, Campus Security, and Why Alignment Misses This
5. 054
   When Models Learn the Monitor Exists, the Reasoning Trace Stops Being a Window
6. 011
   When RL Actually Teaches Agents Something New, And When It Doesn't

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