First Experimental Investigation of a theory of Emergence Under Constraint : Adaptation, Trajectory, Reorganization, and Control in an Artificial Intelligence System

This study presents a first exploratory experimental investigation of a theory of emergence under constraint in an artificial intelligence system. Using a chess-based controlled environment, the accessible space of actions of a conversational AI system was progressively restricted, closed, reopened, and modified through flexible constraints and perturbations. The results show behavioral adaptation to transformations of the accessible possibility space, including repeated abstention under complete closure and resumption of action after reopening. They do not establish strong organizational emergence. The experiment instead leads to a revised longitudinal model in which current constraint and experimental history may jointly affect accessible possibilities and observed responses. A stronger candidate for emergence is therefore defined through the conjunction of organizational novelty, functionality, persistence, and transfer. The study concludes by proposing a falsifiable experimental program using independent instances, predefined constraint trajectories, persistence tests, distant transfer, reduced feedback, and independent verification.