用少量数据构建可解释的特征字典,支持因果干预与跨模型比较。
Exemplar Partitioning for Mechanistic Interpretability

- 基于激活流的聚类划分特征空间,以真实样例为锚点确定区域边界。
- 在Gemma-2-2B上实现97%原始探针准确率,仅需千分之一计算量。
- 可直接对比不同层、模型和训练阶段的特征结构,适合机制可解释研究。
我们提出无监督方法示例分割(EP),从大语言模型激活中构建可解释特征字典,所需令牌数仅为同类稀疏自编码器(SAE)的约1/1000。EP字典是激活空间的Voronoi划分,通过距离阈值内流式激活的领袖聚类构建;每个区域以一个观测样例为锚点,既决定归属也作为干预方向;字典大小由该阈值下的激活几何结构决定,无需预设。因样例为观测所得,相同数据流构建的字典可在不同层、模型与训练检查点间直接比较。我们通过定向演示新可解释性特性及一对一基准验证其有效性:在Gemma-2-2B中,EP区域可解释且支持因果干预——指令微调后的拒绝行为集中于某区域,其样例消融可使保留拒绝率崩溃。基础与指令微调模型字典间的跨检查点匹配,分离出微调前后保留与引入的方向。EP区域与Gemma Scope SAE特征分解激活空间方式不同,但共享核心:约20%的EP区域与SAE特征在F₁ > 0.5时匹配,且EP一热探针在ℓ₀ = 1下保留约97%原始激活探针准确率。最近样例距离提供推理时的免费分布外信号。在AxBench隐概念检测任务中,Gemma-2-2B-it L20上EP在p₁达到均值AUROC 0.881,比标准GemmaScope SAE领先0.126,仅落后SAE-A的0.911(差0.030),而构建计算量降低约1000倍。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
We introduce Exemplar Partitioning (EP), an unsupervised method for constructing interpretable feature dictionaries from large language model activations with $\sim 10^3\times$ fewer tokens than comparable sparse autoencoders (SAEs). An EP dictionary is a Voronoi partition of activation space, built by leader-clustering streamed activations within a distance threshold. Each region is anchored by an observed exemplar that serves as both its membership criterion and intervention direction; dictionary size is not prespecified, but determined by the activation geometry at that threshold. Because exemplars are observed rather than learned, dictionaries built from the same data stream are directly comparable across layers, models, and training checkpoints. We characterise EP as an interpretability object via targeted demonstrations of properties newly accessible through this construction, plus one head-to-head benchmark. In Gemma-2-2B, EP dictionary regions are interpretable and support causal interventions: refusal in instruction-tuned Gemma concentrates in a region whose exemplar ablation can collapse held-out refusal. Cross-checkpoint matching between base and instruction-tuned dictionaries separates the directions preserved through finetuning from those introduced by it. EP regions and Gemma Scope SAE features decompose activation space differently but agree on a shared core: $\sim$20% of EP regions match an SAE feature at $F_1 > 0.5$, and EP one-hot probes retain $\sim$97% of raw-activation probe accuracy at $\ell_0 = 1$. Nearest-exemplar distance provides a free out-of-distribution signal at inference. On AxBench latent concept detection at Gemma-2-2B-it L20, EP at $p_1$ reaches mean AUROC 0.881, +0.126 over the canonical GemmaScope SAE leaderboard entry and within 0.030 of SAE-A's 0.911, at $\sim 10^3\times$ less build compute.
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