> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kb2b.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contradictions and resolution

> When two POT facts contradict each other, kb2b flags them and opens a two-phase workflow for the team to provide evidence and a curator to resolve.

## The problem this solves

If you keep ingesting documents and transcripts into a POT, **sooner or later two facts will contradict each other**. Typical examples:

* An old proposal says "volume discount starts at 500 units" — a recent email says "starts at 300 units"
* A meeting mentions "the single point of contact is Carlos" — a contract says "single point of contact is Laura"
* A quarterly report says "growing 12% YoY" — the investor deck says "8% YoY"

Without management this becomes noise — kb2b would answer with low confidence or contradict itself depending on which fact got retrieved. **Contradiction resolution** is the formal flow for the team to decide which one stands.

## How they're detected

kb2b detects contradictions automatically as it ingests a new fact:

1. For each new fact, it looks for semantically similar facts already in the POT.
2. An LLM evaluates whether the relationship is: `supports`, `refines`, `derives_from`, or **`contradicts`**.
3. If `contradicts`, an **edge** is created between the two facts with that relationship type.
4. Each edge has a **weight** (0.0–1.0) indicating how strong the contradiction is (concept overlap + score divergence).

## Where they appear

Contradictions show up in **two places**:

* **Persistent banner** at the top of the entire Knowledge section (`/dashboard/knowledge` and sub-routes) — shows total count and per-severity. If there are no contradictions, the banner hides.
* **Dedicated page** at `/dashboard/knowledge/constitution` — the full list, expandable, with AI Triage if there are ≥ 3.

### Severities

kb2b classifies each contradiction by its **weight**:

| Weight      | Severity     | Color  | Meaning                                                                                              |
| ----------- | ------------ | ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ≥ 0.80      | **Critical** | Red    | High concept overlap and big score divergence — high probability of being a real, important conflict |
| 0.50 – 0.79 | **Moderate** | Orange | Likely contradiction worth reviewing                                                                 |
| Below 0.50  | **Mild**     | Yellow | Possible false positive or minor contradiction                                                       |

Severity is computed automatically from the edge weight — not manually assigned. Contradictions sort descending by weight, so critical ones always appear first.

### AI Triage

When there are **3 or more active contradictions**, kb2b shows an automated Triage panel with Claude-powered recommendations: it groups related contradictions, suggests where to start, and summarizes the conflicts. **It does not resolve for you** — it only helps you prioritize.

## The two-phase workflow

Resolving a contradiction has **two phases**, intentionally separated:

```
   Phase 1 — STANCE (evidence)                    Phase 2 — RESOLUTION (decision)
   ─────────────────────────                      ─────────────────────────
   Team contributes votes       ────────────▶     A curator makes the final call
   (editors+ can do this)                         (editor / admin / curator)
                                                  
   confirm_a / confirm_b /                        confirmed_a / confirmed_b /
   dismiss                                         both_valid / needs_update / dismissed
```

The split is deliberate: stances accumulate asynchronously across the team, and the final decision happens once there's enough evidence.

### Phase 1 — Stances (all editors)

Each contradiction shows the two fact cards side by side. Under each is a set of three buttons:

* **"Support this fact"** (confirm\_a or confirm\_b depending on the side) — you vote in favor of the fact.
* **"Not a contradiction"** (dismiss) — you mark the edge as a false positive.

Each stance can include **optional notes** explaining why. Each one also triggers a **score delta** that propagates to the involved facts:

* Confirming a fact **raises** its POT Score proportional to your expertise level.
* The opposing fact **drops** proportionally.

Counts are shown live: *"3 support A · 1 supports B · 0 dismiss"*. If you change your mind, your stance is replaced (not duplicated).

### Phase 2 — Resolution (editor / admin / curator)

Once there's enough evidence, someone with permissions makes the final call. There are **5 options**:

| Resolution        | Meaning                                                                                          |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **confirmed\_a**  | "Fact A is correct" — raises A's score, lowers B's.                                              |
| **confirmed\_b**  | "Fact B is correct" — flipped.                                                                   |
| **both\_valid**   | "Both are valid in different contexts" — no penalty, explicitly marks them as non-contradicting. |
| **needs\_update** | "Documents need updating" — flag that this isn't an epistemic decision but a maintenance task.   |
| **dismissed**     | "Not a real contradiction" — false positive.                                                     |

Each resolution can include **notes** explaining the rationale.

When confirmed, kb2b mutates the edge in SciPot: `contradicts` → `resolved_contradiction`, marks who resolved and when, stores the notes, and applies the final score deltas.

## Reverting a resolution

If you made a mistake or new evidence appears, the original resolver can **revert** their resolution. Click "Revert" on the resolved card:

* The edge goes back to `contradicts` (active state).
* Previous stances are kept as history.
* The revert is recorded in the audit trail.

Only the person who resolved can revert their own resolution. Other editors can take a new stance if they disagree, but can't overwrite directly.

## Constitutional axioms and contradictions

When a `Constitutional` fact (POT Score 1.0) participates in a contradiction:

* kb2b **shows an explicit amber warning** in the UI: *"This fact contradicts a constitutional axiom. Resolving against the axiom requires administrator intervention."*
* It does **NOT block** the resolution technically — the call stays with the responsible person.
* The warning is there so you think twice: if you're about to tear down an axiom, the right move is to go to [POT Constitution](/en/admin/pot-constitution) and downgrade or remove it formally with score re-propagation.

<Warning>
  The SciPot whitepaper describes axioms as "immune to stance penalties". In kb2b the current implementation is **warning-aware**, not **hard-block**: the UI warns you but lets the action through. If your organization needs real blocking (regulatory audit, compliance), confirm with your admin before operating on contradictions that touch axioms.
</Warning>

## What gets logged (audit trail)

Every action on a contradiction generates an **activity event** logged for audit:

| Event                    | Who    | When      | What it stores                                     |
| ------------------------ | ------ | --------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `stance_taken`           | userId | timestamp | stance (`confirm_a`/`confirm_b`/`dismiss`) + notes |
| `contradiction_resolved` | userId | timestamp | resolution\_type + notes                           |
| Resolution revert        | userId | timestamp | return to `contradicts`                            |

Historical stances appear in the **"Team positions"** panel inside each contradiction — who voted what, when, with what notes, and what score delta it caused.

Resolved contradictions are kept in a separate panel: **"My resolutions"** (yours) and **"Resolved by others"** (the team's) — dimmed but accessible for review.

## Notifications

<Info>
  In this version kb2b **does NOT send push notifications** when:

  * A new contradiction is detected
  * Someone takes a stance on a contradiction that involves you
  * A contradiction you originated or voted on is resolved

  All changes are in the activity feed and visible when you visit the Knowledge section. Push notifications are on the roadmap.
</Info>

## When NOT to use this flow

* **If you find a fact extracted incorrectly** (it contradicts nothing, it's just wrong), **don't open a contradiction** — use 👎 curation from the fact inspector (see [Explore and discuss facts](/en/user/explore-and-discuss-facts)).
* **If you want to discuss a fact but it doesn't contradict another**, use the Discussion tab, not this flow.
* **If two facts appear to contradict but are actually about different things**, resolve with `dismissed` or `both_valid` — don't force a binary decision where it doesn't apply.

## Permissions

| Action                     | Reader | Editor      | Admin | Human Curator |
| -------------------------- | ------ | ----------- | ----- | ------------- |
| View contradictions        | ✓      | ✓           | ✓     | ✓             |
| Take a stance              | —      | ✓           | ✓     | ✓             |
| Resolve contradiction      | —      | ✓           | ✓     | ✓             |
| Resolve touching an axiom  | —      | ⚠ (warning) | ⚠     | ⚠             |
| Revert your own resolution | —      | ✓           | ✓     | ✓             |
| Manage Constitution        | —      | —           | ✓     | ✓             |

*Page in progress Phase 1 — banner, stance workflow, and resolution modal screenshots coming in Phase 2.*