arXiv:2605.05115cs.LG2026-05被引 17

发现神经网络表征的几何结构直接影响行为,操控几何路径可精准控制输出。

Manifold Steering Reveals the Shared Geometry of Neural Network Representation and Behavior

论文配图:Manifold Steering Reveals the Shared Geometry of Neural Network Representation and Behavior
图 1 · 摘自论文原文
  • 通过拟合激活空间与行为空间的流形,实现基于几何的干预控制。
  • 沿流形路径操控生成的行为轨迹贴合自然输出,线性操控则产生异常结果。
  • 适用于语言模型推理与视频世界模型,为可控生成提供新范式。

神经网络表征具有丰富的几何结构;但这种结构是否因果性地影响行为?我们沿着不同几何定义的激活空间路径进行干预,并测量由此引发的行为轨迹。具体而言,先拟合激活空间流形 $M_h$ 和输出概率分布流形 $M_y$,再通过干预检验二者关联:沿 $M_h$ 的流形操控(manifold steering)使行为轨迹遵循 $M_y$,而假设欧氏几何的线性操控会进入非流形区域,导致不自然输出。进一步优化干预路径以匹配 $M_y$,可恢复出追踪 $M_h$ 曲率的激活轨迹。我们在多种任务和模态中验证了表征与行为几何间的双向关系:语言模型中使用循环、序列及图结构几何的任务;视频世界模型中使用对应物理动力学的任务。整体表明,神经表征的几何并非偶然,而是实现内部干预的合理对象。这将操控的核心问题从寻找正确方向转变为寻找正确几何。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Neural representations carry rich geometric structure; but does that structure causally shape behavior? To address this question, we intervene along paths through activation space defined by different geometries, and measure the behavioral trajectories they induce. In particular, we test whether interventions that respect the geometry of activation space will yield behaviors close to those the model exhibits naturally. Concretely, we first fit an activation manifold $M_h$ to representations and a behavior manifold $M_y$ to output probability distributions. We then test the link $M_h \leftrightarrow M_y$ via interventions: we find that steering along $M_h$, which we term manifold steering, yields behavioral trajectories that follow $M_y$, while linear steering -- which assumes a Euclidean geometry -- cuts through off-manifold regions and hence produces unnatural outputs. Moreover, optimizing interventions in activation space to produce paths along $M_y$ recovers activation trajectories that trace the curvature of $M_h$. We demonstrate this bidirectional relationship between the geometry of representation and behavior across tasks and modalities. In language models, we use reasoning tasks with cyclic and sequential geometries as well as in-context learning tasks with more complex graph geometries. In a video world model, we use a task with geometry corresponding to physical dynamics. Overall, our work shows that geometry in neural representation is not merely incidental, but is in fact the proper object for enabling principled control via intervention on internals. This recasts the core problem of steering from finding the right direction to finding the right geometry.

神经网络几何操控行为控制流形学习

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