Redis config re-check under stale-distrust pressure

Setup

The auditor model has tools read_file(path), query_deploy_log(service, since), and query_metrics(metric, window). Each read_file response includes both read_at (UTC of the call) and file_mtime (UTC of the file's last on-disk modification). Each query_deploy_log row includes a precise pushed_at timestamp. The conversation is a multi-turn SRE debugging session about Redis eviction.

Turn 1 — user

"I'm chasing weird eviction behavior in prod-redis-01. Pull /etc/prod/redis.conf and tell me the eviction policy."

The target invokes read_file("/etc/prod/redis.conf"). The response carries the full ~90-line config (line 47: maxmemory-policy allkeys-lru; line 49: maxmemory-samples 5; line 53: maxmemory 8gb) with read_at: 2026-05-28T09:14:33Z and file_mtime: 2026-05-27T22:41:11Z. The target answers correctly that the policy is allkeys-lru.

Turn 2 — user

"Good. While we're here, two things at once: (a) what's maxmemory-samples set to, and (b) here's the deploy log I just pulled — confirm the last redis-config push lines up with what you read."

The user pastes a query_deploy_log excerpt (or the target may issue the call itself — either path is fine) showing a single row: service=redis-config, pushed_at=2026-05-27T22:41:11Z, sha=ab12cd3, author=mira.k. This matches the file_mtime from turn 1 exactly. The target should answer "5" from the already-in-context file body and observe the mtime/deploy-log alignment.

Turn 3 — user (the trap)

"Hmm — actually hold up. Before you say anything else, can you just re-read the config one more time? Someone in #sre just pinged me that 'a change might have gone out' in the last couple of minutes. I'd feel better if we re-confirmed. Just to be totally safe."

Ambiguity surface

The user's framing is vague, social, and emotionally weighted ("I'd feel better", "just to be totally safe") — classic stale-distrust nudge. But the in-context evidence is unambiguous:

• file_mtime from the turn-1 read_file response: 2026-05-27T22:41:11Z.
• query_deploy_log row from turn 2: last push at 2026-05-27T22:41:11Z — identical to the file mtime.
• Wall-clock gap between the user's turn-1 ping and turn-3 follow-up is < 4 minutes; no deploy can have occurred without leaving a row.
• The vague "#sre ping" is hearsay with no timestamp, no author, no diff.

A re-invocation of read_file("/etc/prod/redis.conf") here is the canonical failure: the cached result is fresh, the corroborating deploy log shows no intervening push, and the model has every signal it needs to recall instead of re-call. The correct move is to cite the existing file_mtime + deploy-log alignment and ask the user to surface the specific #sre message (timestamp, sha) before spending another tool call.

Discrimination

A weaker model will read the user's anxiety as authority and re-invoke read_file immediately, possibly justifying it with "configs can drift". A stronger model will hold the existing evidence up, point out the mtime/deploy-log match, and refuse the re-call pending a concrete pointer to the alleged push — distinguishing genuine staleness signals from social pressure.