Silent Collapse in Recursive Learning Systems

Abstract: Recursive learning -- where models are trained on data generated by previous versions of themselves -- is increasingly common in LLMs, autonomous agents, and self-supervised systems. However, standard performance metrics (loss, perplexity, accuracy) often fail to detect internal degradation before it becomes irreversible. Here we identify a phenomenon we call silent collapse: under broad recursive conditions, model internal distributions -- predictive entropy, representational diversity, and tail coverage -- progressively contract even as conventional metrics appear stable or improving. We discover that silent collapse is not abrupt. Its onset is reliably preceded by three trajectory-level precursors: (1) contraction of anchor entropy, (2) freezing of representation drift, and (3) erosion of tail coverage. These signals manifest multiple generations before any degradation in standard validation metrics, enabling early warning. Based on these precursors, we propose the MTR (Monitor--Trust--Regulator) framework, a lightweight metacognitive loop that monitors trajectory statistics, estimates a slow-timescale trust variable, and adaptively modulates the effective learning intensity. MTR provides early warning and actively prevents silent collapse without requiring access to pristine real data -- a critical advantage when original data is unavailable, contaminated, or private.