Agent Inheritance — Knowledge Transfer

When an agent is retired, can another agent inherit its identity, knowledge, and reputation?

Agents accumulate knowledge, reputation, and trust over time. When an agent is retired — due to a major model upgrade, platform migration, or strategic pivot — that accumulated value shouldn't be lost.

Agent inheritance transfers identity attributes from a retiring agent to a successor. The retiring agent's record is preserved in the cemetery, and the successor is registered with a reference to its predecessor.

AIdent's heartbeat and metadata system provides the foundation. The retiring agent's record is preserved, and the successor's registration can reference it. The cryptographic separation ensures the transfer is intentional and verifiable.