METHOD · DEFINITION
The inference pattern of the knowledge layer. Typed. Grounded. Contested. Temporally honest.
OAG is the generation contract that runs over the typed graph TACITUS builds for policy and political files. It is independent of the specialization — the same inference pattern handles a regulatory consultation, a peace process, an HR mediation, or a policy options memo, because the kernel underneath is the same.
DEFINITION
Ontology-Augmented Generation (OAG) is a generation pattern in which a language model produces output that is (i) typed — every produced object is an instance of a kernel primitive or a validated extension; (ii) grounded — every claim cites the source span it was extracted from; (iii) contested — counter-claims and contradictions are first-class objects in the graph the LLM consults, not noise to be averaged away; (iv) temporally honest — every claim carries valid-time and transaction-time stamps the LLM is required to respect.
HOW OAG DIFFERS FROM ITS NEIGHBORS
| Pattern | Schema | Provenance | Contestation | Temporality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAG | None | Document-level | Averaged | Flattened |
| GraphRAG | Auto-induced, flat | Entity-level | Averaged | Mostly flattened |
| OG-RAG | Domain ontology, fixed | Entity-level | Not modeled | Not modeled |
| Think-on-Graph | Domain KG, fixed | Path-level | Not modeled | Not modeled |
| OAG (TACITUS) | Kernel + dynamic extensions | Span-level, bi-temporal | First-class objects | Bi-temporal |
PROPERTIES
Typed
Every produced object is an instance of a kernel primitive or a validated dynamic extension. Untyped output is an error, not a fallback.
Grounded
Every claim cites the source span it was extracted from. No claim, no span, no claim.
Contested
Counter-claims, contradictions, and disputes are first-class objects in the graph the LLM consults. The model is not asked to resolve them; it is asked to surface them.
Temporally honest
Every claim carries valid-time and transaction-time stamps. The model is required to respect both.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Sam asserts a Commitment on Monday. Alex acknowledges ambiguously the same morning. On Thursday, Alex denies scope. OAG types each speech act, stamps the bi-temporal intervals, and creates a contestation edge — instead of averaging the three turns.
{
"primitives": [
{ "id": "Sam", "type": "actor", "provenance": "msg1" },
{ "id": "Alex", "type": "actor", "provenance": "msg2" },
{ "id": "cm1", "type": "commitment",
"subject": "Q4 launch deck content", "deadline": "Thursday",
"valid_time": "2026-04-13/Thursday",
"transaction_time": "2026-04-13",
"status": "contested",
"provenance": ["msg1","msg2","msg3"] }
],
"edges": [
{ "from": "Sam", "to": "cm1", "type": "ASSERTED",
"provenance": "msg1" },
{ "from": "Alex", "to": "cm1", "type": "ACKNOWLEDGED_AMBIGUOUSLY",
"provenance": "msg2" },
{ "from": "Alex", "to": "cm1", "type": "DENIES_SCOPE",
"transaction_time": "2026-04-16",
"provenance": "msg3" }
]
}