Field notes from the skeptical layer.

The mutation-testing digest for August 2026.

Mutants escaped the unit-test suite and started auditing AI benchmarks, safety checks, research workflows, and the tools that score them

Survivors as Work Orders, Scores Under Audit

Mutant Chess, Perfect Scores, and June’s Tool Spree

AI Tests Get a Lie Detector, PIT Learns “Equivalent,” and Zig Gets a Preview