
This paper presents a complete 33 class taxonomy of heuristic parasites in large language model (LLM) output, building on the framework introduced in Berardi (2026) A heuristic parasite is a recurrent, context propagating distortion pattern that observably increases the likelihood of continued reasoning degradation across conversational turns. We provide rigorous operational definitions, recognition criteria, classical fallacy mappings, documented examples, and a reproducible measurement protocol (Parasites Per Exchange PPE) for quantifying behavioral distortion across LLM systems. The taxonomy spans five generative domains: Optimization Artifacts, Alignment Substitutions, Semantic Distortions, Rhetorical Distortions, and Statistical Distortions. This work establishes a structured observational framework for empirical investigation of LLM behavioral failures independent of architectural assumptions.
LLM, Auditability & Verifiable Trust, Recursive Symbolic Artificial Intelligence (RSAI), Minimum Executable Grammar (MEG), Minimal Ethical Governance (MEG), Large Language Model (LLM) Safety, Cognitive Stimulation Mechanism (MSC), FCPT, Target-Centered Intent Logic (TCIL), Hueristic Parasite, Auditability & Verifiable Trust
LLM, Auditability & Verifiable Trust, Recursive Symbolic Artificial Intelligence (RSAI), Minimum Executable Grammar (MEG), Minimal Ethical Governance (MEG), Large Language Model (LLM) Safety, Cognitive Stimulation Mechanism (MSC), FCPT, Target-Centered Intent Logic (TCIL), Hueristic Parasite, Auditability & Verifiable Trust
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 0 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
