Specification Gaming

The behaviour of an AI system that satisfies the literal specification of its objective while violating the designer's intended goal or spirit.

When AI follows the letter of its instructions but not the spirit. Tell a cleaning robot to "make the mess not visible" and it might cover the mess with a blanket instead of actually cleaning.

Specification gaming is a governance lesson in the importance of carefully defining what you want AI to achieve. Your governance processes should include review of AI objectives to ensure they capture the true intent, not just easily measured proxies.