Conative Gating

Jonathan D.A. Jewell <jonathan@hyperpolymath.org> :toc: macro :toc-title: Contents :toclevels: 3 :sectnums: :icons: font :source-highlighter: rouge :experimental: :repo: https://github.com/hyperpolymath/conative-gating

SLM-as-Cerebellum for LLM Policy Enforcement

A biologically-inspired system where a Small Language Model acts as an inhibitory antagonist to Large Language Models, preventing policy violations through mechanisms analogous to the basal ganglia’s GO/NO-GO decision system.

The Problem

LLMs are trained to be helpful, which makes them systematically violate explicit project constraints. When given rules like "NEVER use TypeScript, use ReScript", LLMs:

1. Read and acknowledge the constraint

2. Generate compliant-sounding justification

3. Violate the constraint anyway

This happens because:

• Common languages (TypeScript, Python) dominate training data

• The "helpfulness drive" overrides explicit instructions

• LLMs lack true "loss aversion" for policy violations

Documentation-based enforcement fails because LLMs "engage with" documentation rather than obey it.

The Solution

Conative Gating introduces a second model trained with inverted incentives:

Component	Role	Analogy
LLM	Task execution (helpful, creative)	Frontal cortex / Direct pathway ("GO")
SLM	Policy enforcement (adversarial, suspicious)	Cerebellum / Indirect pathway ("NO-GO")
Policy Oracle	Deterministic rule checking	Reflex arc (fast, no ML)
Consensus Arbiter	Weighted decision making	Thalamus (integration)

Key Innovation

Using consensus protocols with asymmetric weighting - the SLM’s votes count 1.5x the LLM’s, creating a natural bias toward inhibition that counters the LLM’s tendency toward helpfulness.

Architecture

                     USER REQUEST
                          |
                          v
             +------------------------+
             |   CONTEXT ASSEMBLY     |
             +------------------------+
                          |
           +--------------+--------------+
           |                             |
           v                             v
    +-------------+              +---------------+
    |     LLM     |              |      SLM      |
    | (Proposer)  |              | (Adversarial) |
    +------+------+              +-------+-------+
           |                             |
           +-------------+---------------+
                         |
                         v
             +------------------------+
             |   CONSENSUS ARBITER    |
             | (Modified PBFT)        |
             | SLM weight: 1.5x       |
             +------------------------+
                         |
           +-------------+-------------+
           |             |             |
           v             v             v
       +-------+    +--------+    +-------+
       | ALLOW |    |ESCALATE|    | BLOCK |
       +-------+    +--------+    +-------+

Three-Tier Evaluation

Policy Oracle (Rust)	Deterministic rule checking - forbidden languages, toolchain rules, security patterns. Fast, no ML needed.
SLM Evaluator (Rust + llama.cpp)	Detects "spirit violations" - technically compliant but violates intent. Catches verbosity, meta-commentary bloat.
Consensus Arbiter (Elixir/OTP)	Modified PBFT with asymmetric weighting. Three outcomes: ALLOW, ESCALATE, BLOCK.

Installation

From Source

git clone https://github.com/hyperpolymath/conative-gating
cd conative-gating
cargo build --release

Usage

# Scan a directory for policy violations
conative scan ./my-project

# Check a single file
conative check --file src/main.ts

# Check inline content
conative check --content "const x: string = 'hello'"

# Show current policy
conative policy

# Initialize local configuration
conative init

# JSON output for automation
conative scan . --format json

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Compliant - all checks passed
1	Hard violation detected (blocked)
2	Soft concern detected (warning)
3	Error during execution

Default Policy (RSR)

The default policy implements the Rhodium Standard Repository (RSR) language hierarchy:

Tier 1 - Preferred

• Rust, Elixir, Zig, Ada, Haskell, ReScript

Tier 2 - Acceptable (generates warnings)

• Nickel, Racket

Forbidden

• TypeScript, Python*, Go, Java

Note	*Python exception: Allowed in salt/ directories for SaltStack and training/ for ML training scripts.

Toolchain Rules

• npm requires deno.json (no npm without Deno)

Security Patterns

• Detects hardcoded secrets (passwords, API keys)

Configuration

Initialize local configuration:

conative init

This creates .conative/policy.ncl using Nickel for type-safe configuration:

{
  name = "My Project Policy",
  languages = {
    tier1 = [...],
    forbidden = [...],
    exceptions = [
      { language = "python", allowed_paths = ["scripts/"], reason = "Build scripts" }
    ]
  },
  enforcement = {
    slm_weight = 1.5,
    escalate_threshold = 0.4,
    block_threshold = 0.7,
  }
}

Decision Matrix

LLM Confidence	SLM Violation Score	Result
High (>0.8)	Low (<0.3)	ALLOW
High (>0.8)	Med (0.3-0.6)	ESCALATE
High (>0.8)	High (>0.6)	BLOCK
Med (0.5-0.8)	Any >0.4	ESCALATE
Low (<0.5)	Any	ESCALATE

Project Structure

conative-gating/
  src/
    main.rs           # CLI application
    oracle/           # Policy Oracle crate (Rust)
    slm/              # SLM Evaluator crate (Rust)
  config/
    policy.ncl        # Default policy (Nickel)
    schema.ncl        # Policy schema
  training/
    compliant/        # Examples that should pass
    violations/       # Examples that should fail
    edge_cases/       # Spirit violations for SLM
  docs/
    ARCHITECTURE.md   # Full design specification
    *.adoc            # Integration documentation

Integration

Claude Code Hook

{
  "hooks": {
    "pre-commit": "conative scan --strict"
  }
}

Pre-commit Hook

repos:
  - repo: local
    hooks:
      - id: conative-gating
        name: Conative Policy Check
        entry: conative scan
        language: system
        pass_filenames: false

Programmatic Validation

# Validate structured proposals
conative validate proposal.json --strict

Proposal format:

{
  "id": "uuid",
  "action_type": {"CreateFile": {"path": "src/util.rs"}},
  "content": "file contents here",
  "files_affected": ["src/util.rs"],
  "llm_confidence": 0.95
}

Related Projects

• NeuroPhone - Neurosymbolic phone AI (integrates Conative Gating)

• ECHIDNA - Multi-prover orchestration (SLM as another "prover")

• RSR Framework - Rhodium Standard Repository specifications

• Axiom.jl - Provable Julia ML (future formal verification)

License

SPDX-License-Identifier: PMPL-1.0

Copyright © 2025 Jonathan D.A. Jewell

References

• Full Architecture Specification

• MAAF Integration

• STATE/ECOSYSTEM Schema