A developer asked Codex to dig through two seL4 directories on disk and work out how to run the kernel they'd just compiled. Mid-task the terminal showed Codex searching the web for a raw GitHub URL of a file sitting inside the very repo it was already reading.
Asked why, Codex said it "applied a generic 'verify niche technical facts online' rule mechanically", pointing at a developer-level instruction attached to its web tool. Codex is open source, so the author cloned the repo and found the text: the agent "must verify with browsing the internet" when there's "even a small (>10%) chance" a fact has changed, and "MUST bias towards browsing the internet" if it's unsure or on the fence.
The write-up follows the Codex team's earlier GitHub post on tightening forced rm detection to cut the risk of destructive commands.