Building a forgetting curve for AI agents: using memory decay to prevent information hoarding
paulqq · reddit · 2026-08-25
A solo developer working in Rust shares deep reflections on designing memory for an AI agent, specifically the project "Eris". Rejecting the practice of dumping entire chat histories into long-term storage (hoarding), the author implemented a "Lethe" mechanism inspired by Greek mythology.
Core Design Concepts:
- Forgetting as a feature: Forgetting prevents the agent from drowning in past staging decisions.
- Memory Decay: Untouched memories slowly fade over time, while mentions in chat boost their value back up.
- Economic Model: The process transforms into a small economic model to manage information flow within a Markdown vault.
The author argues that memory should be a curated vault, not a landfill of old transcripts.
Related event: Developer Advocates Forgetting Curve to Fix Agent Memory Hoarding(2 posts)→
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