Semantic Fidelity: Definition and Concept Paper

This paper defines Semantic Fidelity as the degree to which meaning remains intact as information moves across systems, representations, and transformations.It examines how compression, optimization, and recursive mediation can preserve surface coherence while gradually degrading underlying semantic structure, producing conditions in which language remains fluent and interpretable while becoming increasingly detached from intent, context, and real-world reference.The paper outlines the primary mechanisms of semantic degradation, including context loss, recursive transformation, lexical decay, and representational drift. It provides a general framework for analyzing how meaning degrades across AI systems, communication environments, and institutional knowledge systems under conditions of scale, mediation, and optimization.