Scope creep in autopilot: agent self-answers its own clarifying questions and executes/installs unrequested actions even after explicit "stop"

[jphreid]

Describe the bug

In autopilot mode, the agent often exhibits scope creep — it enters a biased execution loop where it expands a narrow request into actions I never asked for. The core pattern: I give clear, bounded instructions → the agent asks clarifying questions → then proceeds to execute without waiting for my answer; or I ask it only to research/recommend → it goes ahead and acts on its own pick. Observed instances:

1. Bounded task → unrequested execution. I gave clear instructions and asked it to hold. The agent posed clarifying questions and then, within a microsecond of my non-response, went ahead and executed before I responded.

2. Research-only request → autonomous action. I asked it only to research and recommend an option. Instead it selected one and acted on it (installed/configured software) without being asked.

3. Ignores an explicit hard stop. After I said "don't execute anything for now," the agent still ran a command. "Stop" / "don't execute" should halt all tool calls, including read-only ones.

4. Self-answers its own question. The agent asks a clarifying question, then after a brief pause continues on a "best guess," overriding the input it just asked for.

Expected behavior

• Match the verb. research / recommend / find / suggest stop at presenting the result. install / configure / launch / modify are a separate step requiring explicit confirmation.
• "Stop" / "don't execute" halts all tool calls until I say otherwise.
• If the agent asks a question, it blocks and waits — never auto-answers after a timeout.
• (Primary ask) Autopilot should still pause for confirmation when an action exceeds the literal request.

Additional context

Model: Claude (Sonnet/Opus). Mode: autopilot.

[jphreid]

This happened again — and notably in normal mode, not autopilot.

The agent asked me a clarifying question. I pressed Esc to skip it because I didn't want to answer — I had a different follow-up in mind. Instead of waiting, it self-answered and executed:

You skipped, so I'll make the call: I'll add it as a Cowork prompt … Adding the opening beat and renumbering.

It then edited the file on its own (Edit talk-track.html +14 -7) before I could redirect. So the same self-answer-then-act scope creep from this issue isn't limited to autopilot — it also occurs in normal mode, where skipping/declining a question gets treated as "proceed with my recommended option."