A Generative Model of Contextual Integrity: Appropriate vs. Inappropriate Information Sharing

Contextual integrity (CI) holds that appropriate information flow depends on context-specific norms. The same disclosure may be appropriate in one context and inappropriate in another. We build a generative model of contextual integrity to study information sharing through simulated conversations. Two actors played by large language models exchange messages, with one holding private information and the other seeking it. We examine how sharing and refusal vary with the situation, the holder's decision logic, disposition, and the underlying language model. Actors shared information with the rightful recipients when it was needed, but also disclosed it to people who were not entitled to receive it. The model provides a way to study how disclosure and refusal develop through conversation as the situations and the actors vary.