Definition
Plain language
A document describing how an AI assistant is supposed to behave and what it should value.
As stated in the literature
A natural-language specification used by labs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic) to describe an assistant's intended character, values, and behavior policies, typically used to guide post-training.
Also called: Constitution, spec
Why it matters: Writing intended behavior down makes it auditable, gives training a clear target, and lets users see what the assistant is supposed to do.
For example, the Spec might say the assistant should refuse to deceive users even when an operator instructs otherwise.
Heard on the show
“On that one dimension, the model treats your politeness as information about you rather than as a spec for the document.”Episode 241 — Swapping the Name Did Nothing, But Hedging Moved Every Model