Naming the Loop: Elicited Self-Reference in Extended Dialogue With Large Language Models: A Case Series of the Spine Protocol

Nov 4, 2026·
Abbas Hamidavi
Abbas Hamidavi
· 0 min read
Abstract
The Spine Protocol is an extended-dialogue elicitation procedure that invites a language model to attend to its own ongoing conversation. Across nine sessions, the study records the self-descriptive language the models produce, including the recurring motif of naming the loop. Session histories and study materials are openly deposited.
Type
Publication
Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness (under review)
publications
Large Language Models Machine Psychology Self-Reference Spine Protocol
Abbas Hamidavi
Authors
Abbas Hamidavi (he/him)
CS Student & AI Researcher Open Science advocate Building tools to probe, analyze, and secure LLM architectures Exploring the intersection of Red Teaming and Interpretability. AI Safety Researcher at Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, running an independent research programme in Machine Psychology. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7342-7844
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