Definition
Plain language
When an AI's memory store fills up with similar entries and retrieval starts pulling the wrong one.
As stated in the literature
In the agent-aging taxonomy, accumulation-driven degradation where similar memory entries compete during retrieval, returning the wrong record for the current query.
Why it matters: It's a reason long-running agents quietly get less reliable, and it can't be fixed by adding more memory — only by better organization.
For example, after weeks of use, an assistant's memory store contains five near-duplicate notes about the user's address and retrieves the outdated one when asked.
Heard on the show
“The John Smith and John Smyth confusion — that's interference aging.”Episode 086 — Why Frozen-Weight Agents Still Get Worse Over Time