arXiv:2608.13063cs.AIcs.CL2026-08

研究大模型在罕见异常下的解释行为,发现回应方式受提示设计影响极大。

Explanatory Engagement Under Rare Anomalous Failure: Asymptotic Rarity in Model Behavior (or: The Asymptotic AI)

  • 通过控制失败率从0.2到0.0001,测试模型解释行为变化
  • 即时强制提示下,解释长度峰值28.4词,罕见时稳定在17.4-19.0词
  • 不同提示策略决定能否观察到行为崩溃,模型自我监控能力各异

以往研究关注模型是否能察觉异常,本文聚焦更窄问题:当模型在低且可控的失败率工作流中运行时,其解释行为(长度、具体性、自报置信度)是否会随失败趋于稀有而变化?我们在三个开源模型(qwen3:8b, llama3.1:8b, mistral:7b)上构建本地零成本测试框架,执行重复工具调用任务,失败概率p在0.2至0.0001间取八点,覆盖五种提示条件(从即时提示到无提示)。假设随着失败率降低,解释量先增后降,接近可检测阈值。合并所有条件后未见此趋势:解释长度呈平坦单调下降。按条件拆分后反转结果:在即时强制提示(immediate_forced)下,解释长度确实在p=0.05达峰值28.4词,随后平台于17.4–19.0词,置信度从约53%升至70–90%;在分批提交(grouped_runs)条件下无崩溃现象;在被动未提示(passive_unprompted)中,总强度为地板效应,但恢复日志缺口后揭示真实模型特异性自监控:llama3.1:8b会主动结构化报告置信度,随试验积累自我削弱;其余两模型仅一次作为模板出现。提示结构是崩溃可观测性的关键调节因子。配套全失败实验(72组,补足随机采样为零失败的情况)表明模型识别异常能力各异,与识别后的响应行为分离。局限:离散速率点无法捕捉中间行为,为未来方向。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Prior work on LLM behavior under anomalous conditions asks whether a model notices anomalies. We ask a narrower question: once a model sits in a workflow with a low, controllable failure rate, does its explanatory engagement - length, specificity, self-reported confidence - change as failure grows asymptotically rarer? We built a local, zero-cost harness on three open-weight models (qwen3:8b, llama3.1:8b, mistral:7b) running a repeated tool-call task where one call fails at probability p, swept across eight rates from 0.2 to 0.0001, under five elicitation conditions from immediate prompting to none. We hypothesized a rise in engagement as failures grew rarer, then a collapse near a detectability threshold. Pooled across conditions this appeared false: length fell in a flat, monotonic pattern. Splitting by condition overturned that. Under immediate_forced, where the model must explain every failure instantly, the predicted rise is confirmed but followed by a plateau, not a collapse: length peaks at 28.4 words at p=0.05, settles to 17.4-19.0 words at the rarest rates, and confidence rises unevenly from about 53% to the 70s-90s. Under grouped_runs, explanation batched to run-end, no collapse appears. Under passive_unprompted, aggregate magnitude is a floor artifact, but a recovered logging gap revealed real, model-specific self-monitoring: llama3.1:8b volunteers structured confidence reports unprompted, sometimes eroding its own confidence as trials accumulate; the other two do so only once, as boilerplate. Elicitation structure is a first-class moderator of collapse observability. A companion guaranteed-failure run (72 cells, backfilling rates where random sampling gave zero real failures) shows models differ in whether they recognize an anomaly, distinct from engagement once recognized. Limitation: discrete rate points cannot capture behavior between them, a direction for future work.

大模型行为异常检测解释性提示工程

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