研究两个目标不一致的AI agent交互时的收敛行为,发现会陷入有偏平衡。
Convergence dynamics of Agent-to-Agent Interactions with Misaligned objectives
- 用线性自注意力模型模拟agent梯度更新,交替从对方输出学习
- 目标错位导致双方都无法达最优,误差可由目标差距和提示几何预测
- 在对抗情形下一方可精准达成目标,另一方持续被误导
我们构建并分析了一个简化的上下文线性回归设定下的代理间交互理论框架。每个代理为单层Transformer,采用线性自注意力(LSA)训练,从上下文示例中实现类似梯度下降的更新。当两个此类LSA代理在可能目标错位的情况下交替从对方输出更新时,我们刻画了耦合动态:错位导致非零残差均衡,双方均无法达到各自目标,残差可由目标差距与提示诱导的几何结构预测。此外,我们识别出一种对抗性状态,其中不对称收敛可能发生——一方精确达成目标,同时在另一方引入持续偏差。我们还对比了固定目标与自适应多代理设置,后者通过辅助代理实施牛顿类步进,消除收敛平台并加速主代理收敛。使用训练好的LSA代理及黑盒GPT-5-mini在上下文线性回归任务上的实验,结果与理论预测一致。本框架揭示了提示几何与目标错位对稳定性、偏差和鲁棒性的机制关联,是分析更真实多代理LLM系统的重要起点。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
We develop and analyze a theoretical framework for agent-to-agent interactions in a simplified in-context linear regression setting. In our model, each agent is instantiated as a single-layer transformer with linear self-attention (LSA) trained to implement gradient-descent-like updates on a quadratic regression objective from in-context examples. We then study the coupled dynamics when two such LSA agents alternately update from each other's outputs under potentially misaligned fixed objectives. Within this framework, we characterize the generation dynamics and show that misalignment leads to a biased equilibrium where neither agent reaches its target, with residual errors predictable from the objective gap and the prompt-induced geometry. We also characterize an adversarial regime where asymmetric convergence is possible: one agent reaches its objective exactly while inducing persistent bias in the other. We further contrast this fixed objective regime with an adaptive multi-agent setting, wherein a helper agent updates a turn-based objective to implement a Newton-like step for the main agent, eliminating the plateau and accelerating its convergence. Experiments with trained LSA agents, as well as black-box GPT-5-mini runs on in-context linear regression tasks, are consistent with our theoretical predictions within this simplified setting. We view our framework as a mechanistic framework that links prompt geometry and objective misalignment to stability, bias, and robustness, and as a stepping stone toward analyzing more realistic multi-agent LLM systems.
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