提出MIRAGE数据集,揭示大模型推理依赖局部相似性而非正确规则。
MIRAGE: Evaluating and Explaining Inductive Reasoning Process in Language Models
- 构建可灵活调整的合成数据集,评估模型归纳与演绎能力
- 发现模型在多数情况下未使用正确规则进行推理,但表现良好
- 模型依赖特征空间邻近样本,是局部相似性驱动的推理者
归纳推理是大语言模型实现更高智能的关键能力,要求模型从已观察事实中归纳规则,并应用于未见样本。我们提出MIRAGE,一个克服以往工作局限性的合成数据集,解决了评估不全面和测试数据灵活性不足的问题。该数据集支持对语言模型在归纳和演绎阶段的能力进行多维度评估,可灵活调整输入分布、任务场景和任务难度,以分析影响其归纳推理的因素。基于多角度评估,我们发现语言模型并非良好的规则驱动推理者:在多数归纳推理场景中,它们并未依据正确规则回答未见样本。从不同提示方法、观测数量和任务形式来看,模型往往在缺乏正确归纳规则的情况下仍能完成正确演绎。此外,我们发现语言模型是优秀的邻近样本推理者:在归纳过程中,模型倾向于关注与当前测试样本在特征空间中相近的已观察事实。通过利用这些相似样本,模型在局部区域内保持强归纳能力,显著提升其演绎性能。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Inductive reasoning is an essential capability for large language models (LLMs) to achieve higher intelligence, which requires the model to generalize rules from observed facts and then apply them to unseen examples. We present MIRAGE, a synthetic dataset that addresses the limitations of previous work, specifically the lack of comprehensive evaluation and flexible test data. In it, we evaluate LLMs' capabilities in both the inductive and deductive stages, allowing for flexible variation in input distribution, task scenario, and task difficulty to analyze the factors influencing LLMs' inductive reasoning. Based on these multi-faceted evaluations, we demonstrate that the LLM is a poor rule-based reasoner. In many cases, when conducting inductive reasoning, they do not rely on a correct rule to answer the unseen case. From the perspectives of different prompting methods, observation numbers, and task forms, models tend to consistently conduct correct deduction without correct inductive rules. Besides, we find that LLMs are good neighbor-based reasoners. In the inductive reasoning process, the model tends to focus on observed facts that are close to the current test example in feature space. By leveraging these similar examples, the model maintains strong inductive capabilities within a localized region, significantly improving its deductive performance.
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