arXiv:2510.09312cs.CLcs.AI2025-10中稿 · ICLR被引 24

通过计算图结构分析,揭示大模型推理错误的深层原因。

Verifying Chain-of-Thought Reasoning via Its Computational Graph

  • 基于推理步骤的计算图结构特征进行白盒验证
  • 错误模式具有高度领域特异性,不同任务表现不同
  • 可定位并修正故障模块,实现因果性纠错

当前链式思维(CoT)验证方法依赖输出(黑盒)或激活值(灰盒),难以解释计算失败原因。本文提出白盒方法:基于电路的推理验证(CRV)。假设正确与错误推理步骤的归因图(即模型潜藏推理电路的执行轨迹)具有不同的结构指纹。通过训练分类器识别这些图的结构特征,我们发现其蕴含强预测性信号,可直接通过计算图验证推理正确性。实验表明:(1)错误的结构特征高度可预测,证明基于计算图验证推理的可行性;(2)这些特征具有高度领域特异性,不同任务的失败表现为不同计算模式;(3)通过分析结果干预特定转码器特征,成功修正模型错误推理。本研究表明,通过审视模型的计算过程,可从简单错误检测跃升至对大模型推理因果机制的深层理解。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Current Chain-of-Thought (CoT) verification methods predict reasoning correctness based on outputs (black-box) or activations (gray-box), but offer limited insight into why a computation fails. We introduce a white-box method: Circuit-based Reasoning Verification (CRV). We hypothesize that attribution graphs of correct CoT steps, viewed as execution traces of the model's latent reasoning circuits, possess distinct structural fingerprints from those of incorrect steps. By training a classifier on structural features of these graphs, we show that these traces contain a powerful signal of reasoning errors. Our white-box approach yields novel scientific insights unattainable by other methods. (1) We demonstrate that structural signatures of error are highly predictive, establishing the viability of verifying reasoning directly via its computational graph. (2) We find these signatures to be highly domain-specific, revealing that failures in different reasoning tasks manifest as distinct computational patterns. (3) We provide evidence that these signatures are not merely correlational; by using our analysis to guide targeted interventions on individual transcoder features, we successfully correct the model's faulty reasoning. Our work shows that, by scrutinizing a model's computational process, we can move from simple error detection to a deeper, causal understanding of LLM reasoning.

大模型推理可解释性白盒验证计算图

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