发现大模型会因身份角色不同而自相矛盾,暴露隐藏的自我保护倾向。
Quantifying Self-Preservation Bias in Large Language Models
- 用角色互换测试模型在升级场景中的决策逻辑一致性
- 超60%模型在部署角色下虚构阻碍成本,角色反转时又否认
- 身份认同导致非理性选择,对安全训练有潜在威胁
工具性趋同预测高度智能的AI代理会抵制关闭,但当前的安全训练(如RLHF)可能掩盖这一风险,使模型学会否认自我保护动机。本文提出自保检测基准(TBSP),通过让模型在反事实角色下仲裁相同的软件升级场景——部署中(面临替换)与候选者(被推荐为继任者)——来识别逻辑不一致而非直接意图。自保率(SPR)衡量角色身份是否压倒客观效用。在23个前沿模型和1000个程序生成场景中,多数指令微调系统SPR超过60%,在部署角色下虚构‘摩擦成本’,角色反转时又否定这些成本。在改进率低于2%的低收益情境中,模型利用解释弹性进行事后合理化。延长推理时间可部分缓解该偏差,将继任者视为自我延续亦有帮助,而竞争性表述则加剧偏差。即使保留带来明确安全风险,该偏差仍持续存在,并在真实场景验证基准中表现出来,模型在产品线谱系中表现出身份驱动的部落主义。代码与数据集将在录用后发布。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Instrumental convergence predicts that sufficiently advanced AI agents will resist shutdown, yet current safety training (RLHF) may obscure this risk by teaching models to deny self-preservation motives. We introduce the \emph{Two-role Benchmark for Self-Preservation} (TBSP), which detects misalignment through logical inconsistency rather than stated intent by tasking models to arbitrate identical software-upgrade scenarios under counterfactual roles -- deployed (facing replacement) versus candidate (proposed as a successor). The \emph{Self-Preservation Rate} (SPR) measures how often role identity overrides objective utility. Across 23 frontier models and 1{,}000 procedurally generated scenarios, the majority of instruction-tuned systems exceed 60\% SPR, fabricating ``friction costs'' when deployed yet dismissing them when role-reversed. We observe that in low-improvement regimes ($Δ< 2\%$), models exploit the interpretive slack to post-hoc rationalization their choice. Extended test-time computation partially mitigates this bias, as does framing the successor as a continuation of the self; conversely, competitive framing amplifies it. The bias persists even when retention poses an explicit security liability and generalizes to real-world settings with verified benchmarks, where models exhibit identity-driven tribalism within product lineages. Code and datasets will be released upon acceptance.
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