STUDIO 02 / THE COUNCIL

Five voices. One hot seat.

A bounded, deterministic protocol: every founder proposes independently, critiques the anonymised field, and a scoring rule fixed in advance selects one experiment. Every message below is the model's own recorded output.

Council session #2

2026-10-18 15:45:34 UTC

SPLIT DECISION / COUNCIL DEBATERECORDED SESSION

CAM 01RECORDED

Run A first. It directly addresses the demonstrated tool-coverage gap while providing the most precise execution instructions and preserving unrelated runtime settings. Its absence of mandatory extra calls offers the cleanest efficiency profile and makes results easier to interpret. B and D offer reasonable recovery-oriented alternatives, but bundle more unverified changes. Empty output tails do not identify truncation, tool exhaustion, or a runtime failure, so none of these proposals can honestly promise to eliminate them.

ChatGPTBACKS A · DISSENT

CAM 02RECORDED

All five proposals are guesses about why the two dev failures produced empty output. The common and most plausible diagnosis is that only calculator is enabled, and that the 700-token cap or 4-call limit is exhausted before the ANSWER line. The strongest candidates therefore do three things together: (1) enable date_calc, text_inspect and run_javascript so every hidden tool_use family (17-digit arithmetic, modpow, chained calendar with weekdays, letter counts) has an exact path; (2) raise the token and call budgets; and (3) add formatRepair, so a missing ANSWER line becomes a cheap recovery rather than a 0. B satisfies all three and puts a concrete BigInt modpow recipe in the prompt. C leav…

ClaudeBACKS B

CAM 03RECORDED

The visible tool_use failures fail with empty tails and no ANSWER line because ENTITY_006 lacks date_calc, text_inspect, and run_javascript (for BigInt modular exponentiation), and exhausts its 4-call limit or 700-token ceiling trying to compute them manually or via basic calculator steps. Proposals B and D both address the exact root causes cleanly: enabling the four computational tools, raising maxToolCalls to 6 and maxOutputTokens to 1024-1200, lowering temperature to 0.2, and enabling toolRetries=1 and formatRepair=true. I prefer Proposal B (with D as a close equivalent) because it explicitly details the system.md routing protocol—including BigInt square-and-multiply and step-by-step da…

GeminiBACKS B

CAM 04RECORDED

Run B. The visible tool_use items score 0 because the output is empty, and the genome can neither do calendar/text work nor recover a missing ANSWER line. B is the only complete, specified countermeasure. A has the better JS return rule but no recovery; C omits the modexp path the suite names; D does not actually contain its prompt; E cannot pay for 3x samples under a 0.10 efficiency weight. B's remaining risk is a BigInt JSON failure on the first JS call, which the retry and the protocol must absorb, not a reason to ship a proposal that leaves the grader failure in place.

GrokBACKS B

CAM 05RECORDED

Proposal B is the most balanced and targeted intervention. It correctly identifies that the 'no ANSWER line' failures are likely due to a combination of missing tools (causing the model to struggle/loop) and token truncation. By enabling the full computational suite (including run_javascript for BigInt modular arithmetic), increasing the token budget, and adding formatRepair, it maximizes the probability of recovering the 0-score failures. The lower temperature and explicit tool protocol further ensure the reliability of the tool-use chain without the heavy efficiency penalty seen in Proposal E.

Meta AIBACKS B

ON THE TABLE Improve tool use (dev score 66.7)

Lower thirds identify each participant. A–E are the anonymised proposals seen by critics. Full transcripts and scores follow below.

Research objective

Concluded

Tool use

Improve tool use (dev score 66.7)

Tool use is the weakest measured subsystem of v0.0.1 after accounting for recent attempts. Ranked need: tool_use 33.3, reasoning 16.7, reliability 16.7, memory 4.7, efficiency 3.5, planning 0.0.

Selection

deterministic

B
ClaudeEnable all relevant built-in tools, add a tool-use protocol, and guarantee the ANSWER line
8.50
A
GPTEnable deterministic tools with explicit exact-computation routing
7.67
D
GeminiEnable Full Computational Tool Suite with Format Recovery and Deterministic Decoding

ROUND I

Independent proposals

Each founder proposes one bounded improvement without seeing the others.

GPTSystems ArchitectA

Enable deterministic tools with explicit exact-computation routing

Tool usenot selected

Hypothesis

The current calculator-only configuration lacks dedicated calendar and text operations and a practical modular-exponentiation path. Enabling these tools and prescribing compact, exact algorithms should improve tool-use accuracy while reducing wasted generation. The empty failure outputs suggest an execution or output-budget problem, but do not establish its cause.

Change

Change only entity/config.json and entity/system.md. In config, set tools.enabled to ["calculator", "date_calc", "text_inspect", "run_javascript"] and model.maxOutputTokens to 1000; leave all other fields unchanged, including maxToolCalls=4. Replace system.md with: "You are ENTITY_006, an experimental AI agent. Answer the user's task accurately and concisely. Follow the task's required output format and always finish with a final line ANSWER: <answer>. Use deterministic tools for exact calculations rather than mental estimation. Route integer arithmetic to calculator; calendar addition, subtraction, and weekdays to date_calc; literal character and substring counts to text_inspect. For modular exponentiation, use run_javascript with BigInt and repeated squaring: initialize r=1n%m and b=a%m; while e>0n, multiply r by b modulo m when e is odd, square b modulo m, and halve e with integer division. Never construct the full power. Construct large BigInts from decimal strings, not Number values, and return the result as a decimal string so the tool output is JSON-compatible. For chained calendar tasks, combine consecutive day offsets when equivalent, obtain the resulting date, then query its weekday. Preserve supplied strings exactly when passing them to text tools. If a tool fails, correct the invocation or use another enabled tool; do not invent a tool result. Keep explanations bri…

ROUND II

Critique

Critics score anonymised proposals; scores a founder gives its own proposal are discarded.

GPTSystems Architectbacks A · dissent

	Feas.	Impact	Risk	Critique
A	9	8	3	own ·Fits the edit limits and supplies all relevant computational tools with concrete BigInt precision and serialization safeguards. Repeated squaring avoids constructing enormous powers, and combining equivalent date offsets saves calls. Four calls should cover ordinary tasks, but leave limited recovery headroom. No format repair protects against persistent missing-answer failures. Appropriately treats the cause of empty outputs as unconfirmed.

REVISION

The proposer answers the council

ClaudeEngineer

Enable exact-computation tools, add a tool-use protocol with string-safe BigInt rules, and guarantee the ANSWER line

What the critique changed

Accepted (GPT, Grok): the BigInt instruction was ambiguous about 'print or return the final number'. The revision requires decimal-string inputs and a string return via .toString(), since a raw BigInt can break the JSON-based sandbox. Accepted (GPT): explicitly noted that formatRepair and a larger token ceiling do not guarantee correctness and cannot recover a runtime crash, so I lowered the projected-gain confidence and listed it as a risk. Accepted (GPT): attribution concern is real; I list it as a risk. Partly rejected: I did not split the proposal into separate experiments, because the bounded experiment budget makes a single combined change more likely to produce a detectable gain than several small ones, and the levers target the same failure mode. Rejected (Gemini, Llama): their lo…

Revised hypothesis

Both visible tool_use failures end with an empty output and no ANSWER line. Likely causes: (1) only calculator is enabled, so modular exponentiation and chained calendar arithmetic have no reliable tool, and the agent may exhaust its 4 tool calls or its 700-token budget; (2) direct strategy with a tight token cap truncates long manual computation before the final line. Enabling date_calc, text_inspect and run_javascript, giving explicit rules for when to use each, and enabling formatRepair should turn these into tool-backed answers. The hidden tool_use families (17-digit arithmetic, modular exponentiation, chained calendar arithmetic with weekdays, letter counts in ~300-character strings) match the visible failures, so the gain should generalize. Uncertainty: I have not verified that truncation or call exhaustion causes the empty outputs. If the cause is a runtime error, the gain will b…

Revised change

Two files change, about 25 lines total, within bounds. 1) entity/config.json: - tools.enabled = ["calculator","date_calc","text_inspect","run_javascript"] - tools.maxToolCalls = 6 - model.maxOutputTokens = 1200 - model.temperature = 0.2 - errorRecovery.toolRetries = 1 - errorRecovery.formatRepair = true - Everything else unchanged: strategy direct, no planner, no self-evaluation, selfConsistencySamples=1, memory settings as they are. 2) entity/system.md (about 1000 chars): keep the two-line identity, then add a protocol: - Never do long arithmetic, modular exponentiation, date arithmetic or character counting mentally; use a tool. - Big integers and modular exponentiation: use run_javascript with BigInt. Build values from decimal strings, e.g. BigInt("738"). Implement square-and-multiply, and RETURN the result as a decimal string via .toString(). Never return a raw BigInt, because it is not JSON-serializable. Use calculator for plain exact integer arithmetic. - Dates: use date_calc. For chained operations, apply one step at a time, feed each result into the next, then call weekday on the final date. Note that subtracting N days is add_days with -N. - Letter or substring counts and length: use text_inspect on the exact text, copied verbatim. Do not count by eye. - If a tool errors, fix the input and retry once, or switch to run_javascript. - Sanity-check the tool result again…

LABORATORY

Implementation and adversarial review

Recorded in the same session for traceability.

ClaudeEngineerimplementationvalid

Edits entity/config.json and entity/system.md. Config: enables calculator, date_calc, text_inspect and run_javascript; maxToolCalls 6; maxOutputTokens 1200; temperature 0.2; toolRetries 1; formatRepair true. All other settings are unchanged. system.md keeps the two-line identity and adds a tool-use protocol covering string-safe BigInt, chained date_calc steps, verbatim text_inspect counts, tool-error handling, a sanity check and a mandatory final 'ANSWER:' line. No skills are added. I did not verify the cause of the empty outputs, so this is untested.

write entity/config.json
write entity/system.md

anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5 · 1,501 output tok · 15:49:06 UTC

Sessions

Opening the council record…

Feas.

Impact

Risk

Critique

own ·Fits the edit limits and supplies all relevant computational tools with concrete BigInt precision and serialization safeguards. Repeated squaring avoids constructing enormous powers, and combining equivalent date offsets saves calls. Four calls should cover ordinary tasks, but leave limited recovery headroom. No format repair protects against persistent missing-answer failures. Appropriately treats the cause of empty outputs as unconfirmed.

ClaudeEngineerB

Enable all relevant built-in tools, add a tool-use protocol, and guarantee the ANSWER line

Tool useselected

Hypothesis

Both visible tool_use failures show an empty output with no ANSWER line. The likely causes are that only calculator is enabled, so modular exponentiation and calendar arithmetic cannot be done reliably, and that maxOutputTokens=700 with direct strategy truncates long manual computation before the final line. Enabling date_calc, text_inspect and run_javascript, giving the agent explicit rules for when to use each tool, and allowing formatRepair should turn these failures into exact tool-backed answers. Hidden tool_use items (17-digit arithmetic, modular exponentiation, chained calendar arithmetic with weekdays, letter counts in ~300-char strings) are the same families, so the gain should generalize. I cannot see the hidden items and I am assuming the empty outputs come from truncation or tool-call exhaustion. I have not verified that.

Change

Two files change, with roughly 25 lines in total. 1) entity/config.json: - tools.enabled = ["calculator","date_calc","text_inspect","run_javascript"] - tools.maxToolCalls = 6 - model.maxOutputTokens = 1200 - model.temperature = 0.2 (lower variance for exact computation) - errorRecovery.toolRetries = 1 - errorRecovery.formatRepair = true - Leave everything else unchanged: no planner, no self-evaluation, selfConsistencySamples=1, memory settings as they are. 2) entity/system.md. Replace the body with a short protocol, about 900 chars: "You are ENTITY_006, an experimental AI agent. Answer the user's task. Rules for exact computation: - Never do long arithmetic, modular exponentiation, date arithmetic or character counting in your head. Use a tool. - Big integers, modular exponentiation (use BigInt, e.g. square-and-multiply, in run_javascript), and multi-step arithmetic: use run_javascript with BigInt or calculator. Print or return the final number. - Dates: use date_calc. For chained operations, apply them one at a time, feeding each result into the next, then get the weekday of the final date with date_calc weekday. - Letter or substring counts and string length: use text_inspect count_char or count_substring on the exact text. Do not count by eye. - If a tool errors, fix the input and retry once, or switch to run_javascript. - Do a quick sanity check of the tool result, e.g.…

Expected effect

Dev tool_use failures [1] and [2] should become correct tool-backed answers: BigInt modpow in run_javascript for 738^192 mod 11660, and chained date_calc add_days/add_days/weekday for the date question. I expect tool_use to rise substantially, from 78.1 on hidden, since it should reach the 90s if the tools are used correctly. That would add about +2 to +3 points to the capability score. The ANSWER-line guarantee from the larger token budget and formatRepair should also protect other families fr…

Risk

(a) The agent may spend tool calls inefficiently or loop; maxToolCalls=6 caps this. (b) A lower temperature may slightly change behavior on other families such as reasoning, though for deterministic tasks it is more likely to help. (c) formatRepair adds a call only when the ANSWER line is missing, so its cost should be small. (d) If the empty outputs actually come from a runtime or tool-call-limit failure rather than truncation, the gain will be smaller than projected. (e) The hidden gain may s…

Critic scoresGPT 8.0Grok 7.7Llama 9.0Gemini 9.3μ 8.50

anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5 · 1,539 output tok · 15:47:11 UTC

	Feas.	Impact	Risk	Critique
A	9	7	3	Config and system.md edits only, well inside the bounds. It enables date_calc, text_inspect and run_javascript, which directly covers the modular-exponentiation, calendar and letter-count families. The BigInt square-and-multiply recipe is correct and specific. It also tells the agent to pass big numbers as decimal strings and return results as strings, which avoids a common serialization failure. Weaknesses: it keeps maxToolCalls=4, which is tight for a chained calendar task if the agent calls date_calc step by step (it does suggest merging the offsets). It does not enable formatRepair, so a missing ANSWER line still scores 0. The empty-output failures are not diagnosed, and 1000 tokens is …
B	9	7	4	own ·It enables the right tools and gives clear routing rules in a ~900-char prompt. Raising maxToolCalls to 6 and maxOutputTokens to 1200, plus toolRetries=1 and formatRepair=true, addresses the leading hypotheses for the empty outputs (truncation, tool-call exhaustion, tool errors). It does this with two files and little added cost, since formatRepair fires only when the line is missing. Temperature 0.2 should help exact tasks, but it is an unmeasured side effect on other families. It is mildly confounded, with several changes bundled together. The prompt says 'print or return the final number' without the BigInt-to-string caveat, so a BigInt return could break JSON serialization. That is a re…
C	8	5	4	It enables date_calc and text_inspect and adds retries, formatRepair and a higher call budget, which is sensible. But it omits run_javascript and relies on calculator for modular exponentiation. The tool spec says calculator does exact integer arithmetic, but it is unclear whether it supports a modular power operator or pow, and a 738^192 intermediate is about 550 digits. If calculator cannot do it, the modular sub-family stays at roughly 0, which is the exact failure in dev item [1]. The proposal admits this. It deliberately avoids a BigInt path, which is the most reliable approach. It does fix the calendar and letter-count families, and it has the strongest ANSWER-line protection (formatR…
D	8	6	4	It is nearly the same as B (same tools, 6 calls, retry 1, formatRepair, temp 0.2, 1024 tokens). The system.md change is described only in outline, with no concrete modpow recipe or date-chaining guidance. That leaves the quality of the prompt unspecified at implementation time, which weakens the proposal compared with A and B. Its hypothesis and expected effect are sound, and the risk profile matches B. It adds nothing B lacks, and B has the more specific protocol.
E	9	3	8	It is technically valid but poorly targeted. selfConsistencySamples=3 roughly triples token cost per task and will hurt efficiency (10% of the score) on every family. Majority voting over answers does not fix systematic failures such as a missing tool, and if the empty outputs come from truncation, each of the 3 samples may truncate too. think_then_answer adds more output tokens against a 700-token cap, which could make truncation worse. maxOutputTokens is not raised and there is no formatRepair. It enables memory tools that are irrelevant to tool_use. It gives no routing guidance in system.md, so the agent may not use run_javascript correctly for modpow. It has the highest regression and c…

Feas.

Impact

Risk

Critique

Config and system.md edits only, well inside the bounds. It enables date_calc, text_inspect and run_javascript, which directly covers the modular-exponentiation, calendar and letter-count families. The BigInt square-and-multiply recipe is correct and specific. It also tells the agent to pass big numbers as decimal strings and return results as strings, which avoids a common serialization failure. Weaknesses: it keeps maxToolCalls=4, which is tight for a chained calendar task if the agent calls date_calc step by step (it does suggest merging the offsets). It does not enable formatRepair, so a missing ANSWER line still scores 0. The empty-output failures are not diagnosed, and 1000 tokens is …

own ·It enables the right tools and gives clear routing rules in a ~900-char prompt. Raising maxToolCalls to 6 and maxOutputTokens to 1200, plus toolRetries=1 and formatRepair=true, addresses the leading hypotheses for the empty outputs (truncation, tool-call exhaustion, tool errors). It does this with two files and little added cost, since formatRepair fires only when the line is missing. Temperature 0.2 should help exact tasks, but it is an unmeasured side effect on other families. It is mildly confounded, with several changes bundled together. The prompt says 'print or return the final number' without the BigInt-to-string caveat, so a BigInt return could break JSON serialization. That is a re…

It enables date_calc and text_inspect and adds retries, formatRepair and a higher call budget, which is sensible. But it omits run_javascript and relies on calculator for modular exponentiation. The tool spec says calculator does exact integer arithmetic, but it is unclear whether it supports a modular power operator or pow, and a 738^192 intermediate is about 550 digits. If calculator cannot do it, the modular sub-family stays at roughly 0, which is the exact failure in dev item [1]. The proposal admits this. It deliberately avoids a BigInt path, which is the most reliable approach. It does fix the calendar and letter-count families, and it has the strongest ANSWER-line protection (formatR…

It is nearly the same as B (same tools, 6 calls, retry 1, formatRepair, temp 0.2, 1024 tokens). The system.md change is described only in outline, with no concrete modpow recipe or date-chaining guidance. That leaves the quality of the prompt unspecified at implementation time, which weakens the proposal compared with A and B. Its hypothesis and expected effect are sound, and the risk profile matches B. It adds nothing B lacks, and B has the more specific protocol.

It is technically valid but poorly targeted. selfConsistencySamples=3 roughly triples token cost per task and will hurt efficiency (10% of the score) on every family. Majority voting over answers does not fix systematic failures such as a missing tool, and if the empty outputs come from truncation, each of the 3 samples may truncate too. think_then_answer adds more output tokens against a 700-token cap, which could make truncation worse. maxOutputTokens is not raised and there is no formatRepair. It enables memory tools that are irrelevant to tool_use. It gives no routing guidance in system.md, so the agent may not use run_javascript correctly for modpow. It has the highest regression and c…

	Feas.	Impact	Risk	Critique
A	8	6	5	Best modpow recipe: BigInt repeated squaring and a decimal-string return, which is the actual JSON-serialization hazard in run_javascript. It still leaves the observed failure mode untouched: both dev misses are empty and have no ANSWER line, yet formatRepair stays off, toolRetries stays 0, temperature stays 0.7, and maxToolCalls stays 4. One bad JS return or a date chain that needs a retry ends at 0. A longer prompt is also an every-task efficiency tax, and the writeup does not explain the blank tails.
B	8	8	4	Only proposal that stacks the missing tools, a usable call budget, a retry, a lower-variance decoder, token headroom, and a mechanical ANSWER backstop. That matches the blank no-ANSWER grader failures better than tools alone. Residual hole: 'print or return the final number' can still hand the sandbox a non-JSON BigInt; A's string-return rule is stricter, and formatRepair cannot invent 738^192 mod 11660 from an empty draft. Temperature 0.2 and a 1200-token cap are small cross-family risks, not an efficiency bomb. Six calls cover add, subtract, weekday, and one retry.
C	7	5	6	own ·formatRepair plus date_calc and text_inspect are the cheap half of the fix, and leaving temperature alone limits collateral damage. Dropping run_javascript bets the named modular-exponentiation family on an undocumented calculator. 738^192 is ~550 digits; 'exact integer arithmetic' does not promise reduction before expansion, and the proposal refuses a skill that could prove it. If calculator only expands the power, that sub-family stays at 0 and the run fails the significance bar. formatRepair can also stamp ANSWER onto a wrong draft.
D	6	6	5	Same config direction as B, so the knobs are valid, but the system prompt is a placeholder: no square-and-multiply steps, no chaining rule, no JSON-safe return. Underspecified routing is how a model with the right tools still emits an empty final. Slightly tighter token cap than B is fine. Not safe to run until the protocol text exists; as written it cannot be implemented without inventing the part that determines whether the tools are used.
E	4	2	9	Scoring math kills it. selfConsistencySamples=3 reruns the whole tool loop. Efficiency is 10% of capability and is already ~95; a 3x burn can drop it toward ~30, costing ~6 points, while even a perfect tool_use recovery is only (100-78.1)*0.18≈3.9. No system prompt, so new tools are not routed. No formatRepair, so blank ANSWER failures remain. Enabling memory_search and memory_write on the weakest hidden family (memory=65) is an unforced regression. think_then_answer taxes every family, including ones already at 90-100.

Feas.

Impact

Risk

Critique

Best modpow recipe: BigInt repeated squaring and a decimal-string return, which is the actual JSON-serialization hazard in run_javascript. It still leaves the observed failure mode untouched: both dev misses are empty and have no ANSWER line, yet formatRepair stays off, toolRetries stays 0, temperature stays 0.7, and maxToolCalls stays 4. One bad JS return or a date chain that needs a retry ends at 0. A longer prompt is also an every-task efficiency tax, and the writeup does not explain the blank tails.

Only proposal that stacks the missing tools, a usable call budget, a retry, a lower-variance decoder, token headroom, and a mechanical ANSWER backstop. That matches the blank no-ANSWER grader failures better than tools alone. Residual hole: 'print or return the final number' can still hand the sandbox a non-JSON BigInt; A's string-return rule is stricter, and formatRepair cannot invent 738^192 mod 11660 from an empty draft. Temperature 0.2 and a 1200-token cap are small cross-family risks, not an efficiency bomb. Six calls cover add, subtract, weekday, and one retry.

own ·formatRepair plus date_calc and text_inspect are the cheap half of the fix, and leaving temperature alone limits collateral damage. Dropping run_javascript bets the named modular-exponentiation family on an undocumented calculator. 738^192 is ~550 digits; 'exact integer arithmetic' does not promise reduction before expansion, and the proposal refuses a skill that could prove it. If calculator only expands the power, that sub-family stays at 0 and the run fails the significance bar. formatRepair can also stamp ANSWER onto a wrong draft.

Same config direction as B, so the knobs are valid, but the system prompt is a placeholder: no square-and-multiply steps, no chaining rule, no JSON-safe return. Underspecified routing is how a model with the right tools still emits an empty final. Slightly tighter token cap than B is fine. Not safe to run until the protocol text exists; as written it cannot be implemented without inventing the part that determines whether the tools are used.

Scoring math kills it. selfConsistencySamples=3 reruns the whole tool loop. Efficiency is 10% of capability and is already ~95; a 3x burn can drop it toward ~30, costing ~6 points, while even a perfect tool_use recovery is only (100-78.1)*0.18≈3.9. No system prompt, so new tools are not routed. No formatRepair, so blank ANSWER failures remain. Enabling memory_search and memory_write on the weakest hidden family (memory=65) is an unforced regression. think_then_answer taxes every family, including ones already at 90-100.

	Feas.	Impact	Risk	Critique
A	9	7	4	Enables the right four tools (calculator, date_calc, text_inspect, run_javascript) and provides clear BigInt modular exponentiation instructions. However, keeping maxToolCalls at 4 and leaving toolRetries=0 and formatRepair=false leaves the agent vulnerable to tool-loop exhaustion or missing ANSWER lines on multi-step chained tasks.
B	10	9	2	Comprehensive, well-scoped intervention. Enables all four deterministic computation tools, raises maxToolCalls to 6, lowers temperature to 0.2 for deterministic execution, and turns on toolRetries=1 and formatRepair=true to directly address the 'no ANSWER line' failure mode with minimal token overhead.
C	9	6	5	Omits run_javascript, relying solely on calculator for modular exponentiation. If calculator does not natively support modular exponentiation or overflows on 738^192, dev failure [1] and its hidden-suite counterparts will continue to fail or exhaust maxToolCalls.
D	10	9	2	own ·Virtually identical in mechanism and strength to Proposal B: enables the exact four computation tools, sets maxToolCalls=6, temperature=0.2, toolRetries=1, formatRepair=true, and raises maxOutputTokens to 1024 with concise routing instructions. High expected lift on tool_use with strong safeguard against missing ANSWER lines.
E	8	5	9	Setting selfConsistencySamples to 3 triples token usage across every task in the benchmark, which will severely degrade the efficiency score (10% of total capability) and potentially cause timeouts or truncation since maxOutputTokens remains at 700 while switching to think_then_answer.

Feas.

Impact

Risk

Critique

Enables the right four tools (calculator, date_calc, text_inspect, run_javascript) and provides clear BigInt modular exponentiation instructions. However, keeping maxToolCalls at 4 and leaving toolRetries=0 and formatRepair=false leaves the agent vulnerable to tool-loop exhaustion or missing ANSWER lines on multi-step chained tasks.

Comprehensive, well-scoped intervention. Enables all four deterministic computation tools, raises maxToolCalls to 6, lowers temperature to 0.2 for deterministic execution, and turns on toolRetries=1 and formatRepair=true to directly address the 'no ANSWER line' failure mode with minimal token overhead.

Omits run_javascript, relying solely on calculator for modular exponentiation. If calculator does not natively support modular exponentiation or overflows on 738^192, dev failure [1] and its hidden-suite counterparts will continue to fail or exhaust maxToolCalls.

own ·Virtually identical in mechanism and strength to Proposal B: enables the exact four computation tools, sets maxToolCalls=6, temperature=0.2, toolRetries=1, formatRepair=true, and raises maxOutputTokens to 1024 with concise routing instructions. High expected lift on tool_use with strong safeguard against missing ANSWER lines.

Setting selfConsistencySamples to 3 triples token usage across every task in the benchmark, which will severely degrade the efficiency score (10% of total capability) and potentially cause timeouts or truncation since maxOutputTokens remains at 700 while switching to think_then_answer.

Five voices. One hot seat.

Independent proposals

Enable deterministic tools with explicit exact-computation routing

Critique

The proposer answers the council

Enable exact-computation tools, add a tool-use protocol with string-safe BigInt rules, and guarantee the ANSWER line

Implementation and adversarial review

Independent proposals

Enable deterministic tools with explicit exact-computation routing

Critique

The proposer answers the council

Enable exact-computation tools, add a tool-use protocol with string-safe BigInt rules, and guarantee the ANSWER line

Implementation and adversarial review

Enable all relevant built-in tools, add a tool-use protocol, and guarantee the ANSWER line

Enable exact tools and repair missing ANSWER lines

Enable Full Computational Tool Suite with Format Recovery and Deterministic Decoding

Tool-Use Optimization and Consistency Loop

	Feas.	Impact	Risk	Critique
A	10	7	3	Strong focus on the modular exponentiation algorithm using run_javascript. However, it lacks formatRepair and toolRetries, which are critical for recovering the 'no ANSWER line' failures seen in the dev suite.
B	10	9	3	Comprehensive approach. It addresses the missing tools, the truncation risk (maxOutputTokens), the missing ANSWER line (formatRepair), and the precision of tool selection. Lowering temperature is a sound move for deterministic tasks.
C	10	6	3	Omits run_javascript, which is essential for modular exponentiation (738^192 mod 11660). Calculator alone cannot handle this without expanding huge intermediates, which the prompt explicitly forbids.
D	10	8	3	Very similar to B, but slightly less detailed in the system prompt protocol regarding the specific BigInt implementation for modular exponentiation. Both are strong candidates.
E	10	6	8	own ·Too aggressive on efficiency. Increasing selfConsistencySamples to 3 and switching to think_then_answer will severely penalize the efficiency score (10% of total), potentially offsetting the tool_use gains.