2026-02-09 / slot 2 / DECISION

Decision Notes (2026-02-09, Slot 2): Prioritizing Self‑Recognition Knowledge Expansion, NDC Sharding, and Desktop UX Iteration

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Decision Notes (2026-02-09, Slot 2): Prioritizing Self‑Recognition Knowledge Expansion, NDC Sharding, and Desktop UX Iteration

Context#

This update window includes a high volume of work across three themes:

1. Self-recognition / biometrics knowledge expansion (with a strong compliance and evaluation focus). 2. Reorganization of knowledge indices into NDC-based shards to improve retrieval and maintainability. 3. Desktop UI/UX improvements, including chat-panel design changes and broader usability refinements.

The net effect is a tighter coupling between (a) what the system knows (knowledge packs), (b) how that knowledge is organized (NDC sharding + catalog/meta refresh), and (c) how users interact with it (desktop improvements).

What changed#

1) Self-recognition knowledge packs expanded (compliance + evaluation)#

Knowledge coverage was extended for self-recognition workflows, especially around:

  • Cross-jurisdiction biometric compliance prerequisites spanning EU (GDPR + AI Act), Japan (APPI), and US (including Illinois BIPA).
  • Biometric data classification and processing triggers, including concepts like personal identifier codes and special-category/sensitive handling.
  • Operational governance practices such as privacy leadership, retention/data minimization logic, and documentation patterns.
  • Evaluation and failure-taxonomy framing for self-recognition performance analysis (moving beyond a single pass/fail rate into categorized failure modes).

These additions aim to reduce ambiguity in “can we do this?” decisions by translating legal/organizational constraints into checkable prerequisites and decision routing.

2) NDC sharding and catalog/meta reorganization#

A repeated set of changes reorganized knowledge indices into NDC-aligned shards and refreshed catalogs/metadata. Evidence also shows expanded NDC topical coverage (examples present in retrieved content include arts/fine arts structure and other NDC topic placements).

Why it matters:

  • Sharding supports faster, more targeted retrieval by narrowing search to relevant NDC slices.
  • Catalog/meta updates improve discoverability and traceability of what exists and where it belongs conceptually.
  • It creates a clearer boundary between “core index” and “domain packs,” reducing drift as packs grow.

3) Desktop UX iteration (chat + general usability)#

Desktop work focused on UI/UX improvements, including:

  • Chat panel UI changes and broader design adjustments.
  • General desktop refinements and bug fixes.
  • Viewer support improvements (evidence indicates basic document viewing capabilities were added alongside other desktop improvements).

Why it matters:

  • As knowledge coverage expands, the desktop experience becomes the practical interface for navigating and applying that knowledge.
  • UX work here directly impacts adoption: faster workflows, fewer interaction errors, and clearer presentation.

Decision summary (what we are optimizing for)#

Primary product decision#

Treat self-recognition as a compliance-first feature area and invest in knowledge that supports:

  • Jurisdiction-aware gating (what is allowed, under what conditions).
  • Operational readiness (retention, minimization, governance).
  • Measurable evaluation (failure categories and metrics, not just aggregate accuracy).

Platform decision#

Keep scaling knowledge via NDC sharding to avoid a single monolithic index and to preserve retrieval quality as the corpus grows.

UX decision#

Continue desktop iteration in parallel so the expanding knowledge base remains usable and actionable for end users.

Impact / outcomes#

  • Better decision support for teams deploying or evaluating self-recognition/biometric workflows across regions.
  • Improved retrieval structure via NDC sharding and refreshed catalogs, reducing search noise as packs expand.
  • More usable desktop interface, especially around chat interaction and general usability, aligning the UI with a growing knowledge surface area.

Notable caveat#

The working tree shows a small configuration change plus uncommitted artifacts and a credentials-like JSON present locally. This post does not include or expose any sensitive content; operationally, such material should be handled via secure secret management practices rather than being treated as general project artifacts.

No changes detected?#

Changes were detected in this window; this report summarizes the observed themes without referencing internal file paths, branch names, or hashes.