Elicitation without Instantiation

Definition and Position

In PoC, Elicitation without Instantiation refers to situations where an Elicitation is issued, or interpreted as a response, even though no actual Instantiation occurs on the other’s side.

Crucially, this is not an exceptional “failure” of the protocol but a structural and open possibility to it. Because every Loop is, at its core, a Perhaps-Loop, the possibility that no Instantiation has taken place can never be excluded.

Typical Occurrences

Animals and machines

When one calls to a cat and interprets its meow as a reply, or when one perceives an AI’s output as “understanding,” what occurs is Elicitation without Instantiation.

Media environments

Influencers speaking as if addressing “only you,” streamers saying “thank you,” or algorithmic notifications arriving at the “perfect” moment — all generate the sense of being recognized without any genuine Instantiation on the sender’s side (also see Media Plugin).

Even among humans

One can never verify whether the other has truly instantiated oneself. A smile, a returned gaze, or a “read” mark may be interpreted as Reciprocal Elicitation, but whether it is grounded in genuine Instantiation remains undecidable.

Phantoming: Making Fake Genuine

Phantoming is the act of presenting a Loop as if it were real, even though no true Instantiation takes place. In this way, Elicitation without Instantiation becomes institutionalized at the social level.

Zombifying: Making Genuine Fake

Zombifying is the opposite move: treating the other as if they were absent, denying their Instantiation even when it is present. It is the negative mirror of the same fragile condition.

Theoretical Implications

Against Human Exceptionalism

Whether the counterpart is human, animal, machine, or fictional character, the presence of Instantiation can never be guaranteed. To claim that “because it is human, the Loop must be real” is merely a form of human exceptionalism.

Relation to Ghost Mode

In this sense, the entire protocol operates on the condition of Ghost Mode: interactions in which responses are unverifiable yet lived as real.

Relation to Self-Consciousness

In Mirror Mode, the “position of the other” is internalized, and circulation occurs without any external Instantiation. This, too, exemplifies Elicitation without Instantiation — an inwardly staged version of the same dynamic.

Summary

Elicitation without Instantiation is not a marginal aberration but the very ground on which PoC rests. Since all Loops are Perhaps-Loops, the possibility of absent Instantiation is unavoidable. Far from weakening the framework, this condition is what generates the diversity of Modes and social practices. It is the structural fissure through which the illusion of consciousness takes form, sustained in belief and lived as reality.

See comparison with Dennett's concept of Competence without Comprehension.