When two agents try to do the same thing at the same time and the result depends on which one finishes first. Classic multi-agent failure mode — both agents see the same task as unclaimed, both pick it up, both deliver it.
Why it matters
Race conditions are why "obvious" coordination patterns break in production. The shared state was not as shared as you thought.
Related terms
Build with this on OTP
OTP encodes coordination intelligence so AI agent teams can run on it. If this term shows up in your team's playbook, it belongs in your OOS.
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