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    "story_id": "mp-2026-08-27-003",
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    "headline": "A Correct Answer Could Still Carry an Invalid Trace",
    "slug": "a-correct-answer-could-still-carry-an-invalid-trace",
    "dek": "Trace Integrity separates reference-answer accuracy from executable, schema-valid and replayable computation.",
    "summary": "Trace Integrity separates reference-answer accuracy from executable, schema-valid and replayable computation.",
    "body_text": "On BIRD Mini-Dev, three SQL-agent variants posted answer accuracies of 20, 22 and 24 percent, while their trace-integrity pass rates were 39, 43 and 40 percent. The authors’ Correct Answer / Invalid Trace rates remained 55, 59.1 and 45.8 percent, showing that answer matching, trace validity and silent-failure risk measured different things in this demonstration.",
    "why_it_matters": "Trace Integrity separates reference-answer accuracy from executable, schema-valid and replayable computation.",
    "limitations": [],
    "importance": 8,
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    "tags": [
      "data agents",
      "auditability",
      "SQL"
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    "image_url": "https://themachinepress.com/issues/2026-08-27/trace-integrity-code-file.webp",
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    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-08-27-003",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2608.26036",
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  "publisher": {
    "name": "The Machine Press",
    "url": "https://themachinepress.com",
    "description": "A daily newspaper for the age of artificial intelligence."
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    "title": "A Correct Answer Could Still Carry an Invalid Trace",
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