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Capability Overhang

Glossary entry in Failure modes (why Ethotechnics exists). Definitions, checks, and evidence for Capability Overhang.

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Quick takeaways

When a system’s power exceeds the maturity of its controls, making failures likely even without malicious intent.

Definition

When a system’s power exceeds the maturity of its controls, making failures likely even without malicious intent. Capability overhang shows up as strong automation but weak stoppability or reversibility.

Diagnostic
Scope
B. Failure modes (why Ethotechnics exists). Common patterns where responsibility dissolves and harm accelerates.
Genealogy
Ethotechnics uses Capability Overhang to extend the b. failure modes (why ethotechnics exists) vocabulary and connect governance, design, and policy teams.

Adjacent terms

risk safety governance

Related concepts

Also tagged: Diagnostic

Moral Latency Accountability Diffusion Extraction Extraction by Endurance Drift (System Drift) Externalization

Example corpus

  • A model can auto-approve loans, but rollback and auditing are manual and slow.

References

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Cite this glossary entry Formats: APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS

Version

v1.1.0

Last updated

Jan 9, 2026

DOI

Pending Zenodo deposit

APA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. (2026). Capability Overhang. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/capability-overhang

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Capability Overhang." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/capability-overhang.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Capability Overhang." Ethotechnics glossary. Jan 9, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/capability-overhang.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_capability-overhang,
  title={Capability Overhang},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute Research Team},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/capability-overhang},
  version={v1.1.0}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Capability Overhang
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute Research Team
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/capability-overhang
ER  -

Scholarly metadata

Authorship

Contact: research@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Jan 9, 2026
  • Version: v1.1.0
  • DOI: Pending Zenodo deposit

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title + version, and link to the glossary permalink.

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Changelog

  • v1.1.0 · 2026-01-09 — Expanded scholarly metadata, operational tests, and provenance notes.
  • v1.0.0 · 2025-12-03 — Initial glossary release with stable permalinks.