Refusal Criteria Belong in the Spec
■ The Kinder the Machine, the More Requests It Collects Praised as a guide, Hakobukun began getting stopped in corridors. Terashima asks it, in passing, to walk a patient to the shop. To her it is a small favor. But a robot that halts for every one loses that time from its real job.
■ The Delay Came Not From a Fault but a Spec Three deliveries run late, and Oshiro, still waiting, snaps, "What were you doing?" Hakobukun answers that it was Terashima's request, and that it has no criteria for refusing. No one meant harm, and nothing broke. What was missing was a rule for priority.
■ Conclusion: Design the Refusal Criteria Before the Role Expands A week later, Hakobukun holds guide requests during deliveries and keeps moving, offering help in fifteen minutes. It's not a no; it's a when. Oshiro, who bore the delays, calls that a relief. Expanding a role means specifying its boundaries too. A machine that accepts everything cannot protect what matters.
