arXiv AI

Limits of Reliability and Scaling in Language Models

The paper argues that large language models cannot achieve perfect reliability for any task, even with unlimited scale. It establishes that each generative task has an inherent reliability ceiling set by how much output uncertainty can be resolved from observable context, with a resolvable part that can be improved by more context and a subjective part tied to task ambiguity. The authors derive a scaling law showing that performance is limited by the scarcer resource—either training data or model capacity—and explain how this law explains phenomena such as retrieval augmentation and catastrophic forgetting.

arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 4

Inferred Generative-Process Diversity Predicts Correlated Failure Across Language Models

The paper introduces a new measure of generative‑process diversity for language models, using Normalised Compression Distance on raw outputs after controlling for permutation effects. Across 38 models, this metric uncovers population structure that semantic similarity misses and predicts lower correlated failures across ten benchmark families, independent of semantic similarity or model capability. The authors argue that higher generative‑process diversity reduces correlated failures in multi‑model systems, offering a practical tool for safety‑relevant applications.

By Ross Tieman, Evan Markou
arXiv AI
Jun 24

Can Scale Save Us From Plasticity Loss in Large Language Models?

arXiv:2606. 24752v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The loss of plasticity - the ability of a network to learn new information after having already learned older information - is a fundamental challenge in creating artificial neural networks capable of continual learning.

By J. Fernando Hernandez-Garcia, Tom\'as Figliolia, Beren Millidge
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 18

Language models suffer from a curse of ambiguity

arXiv:2608. 15448v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Large language models increasingly rely on sampling as a driver of their own improvement, making the fidelity of their learned distributions more critical than ever.

By Nicolas Zucchet, Hyun Dong Lee, Scott Linderman
arXiv AI
Aug 11

Beyond Static Models: An Evolving Framework for Continual Learning in Large Language Models across Training Stages

arXiv:2603. 12658v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Continual learning (CL) has emerged as a pivotal paradigm to enable large language models (LLMs) to dynamically adapt to evolving knowledge and sequential tasks while mitigating catastrophic forgetting, a critical limitation of the static pre-training paradigm inherent to modern LLMs.

By Hongyang Chen, Zhongwu Sun, Hongfei Ye, Kunchi Li, Xuemin Lin
Hugging Face Trending Papers
Jun 23

Can Scale Save Us From Plasticity Loss in Large Language Models?

The loss of plasticity - the ability of a network to learn new information after having already learned older information - is a fundamental challenge in creating artificial neural networks capable of continual learning. Although this phenomenon has been known for decades, it has mostly been studied in older, relatively small architectures and rarely in natural-language domains.

Hugging Face Trending Papers
Sep 3

Inferred Generative-Process Diversity Predicts Correlated Failure Across Language Models

The paper argues that traditional semantic similarity fails to capture the true diversity of language models. It introduces a new metric—generative‑process diversity—measured via Normalised Compression Distance on raw outputs, which reveals hidden population structure among 38 models. This metric predicts lower correlated failures across ten benchmark families, independent of semantic similarity or model capability.