arXiv Machine Learning

Bootstrap Theory of Representational Emergence (TBER): Explanatory Insufficiency, Transition Regimes, and the Emergence of New Representational Levels

arXiv:2606. 07303v4 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Representation learning is central to modern machine learning, yet most research focuses on optimizing representations after a framework has been selected.

arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 27

Emergent Abilities in Large Language Models: A Survey

Emergent Abilities in Large Language Models: A Survey reviews how scaling LLMs leads to previously unseen capabilities such as advanced reasoning, in-context learning, coding, and problem-solving. The paper critically examines definitions, inconsistencies, and the conditions that foster these abilities, including scaling laws, task complexity, pre‑training loss, quantization, and prompting strategies. It also discusses the extension to Large Reasoning Models and highlights safety concerns like deception, manipulation, and reward hacking, calling for improved evaluation and governance.

By Leonardo Berti, Flavio Giorgi, Gjergji Kasneci
arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 14

From Performance to Representational Adequacy: A Representational Bootstrap Framework for Adaptive Biological Systems

arXiv:2606. 01374v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Observable performance is commonly used to characterize biological systems, yet aggregated outputs may remain insufficient for uniquely resolving observational conditions, and richer multivariate representations may retain substantial ambiguity.

By Jacques Raynal, Pierre Slangen, Elsa Raynal, Jacques Margerit
arXiv AI
Sep 21

Large Language Models As Shannon Lossy Compressors Not Solomonoff Induction Estimators: The Singularity Is Not Near Without Symbolic Model Synthesis

The paper argues that Large Language Models (LLMs) do not function as Solomonoff induction estimators because their training objectives—cross‑entropy, negative log‑likelihood, and next‑token prediction—optimize fit to a supplied conditional distribution rather than a program‑weighted universal mixture. It further contends that additional computation alone does not transform these models into optimal predictors without external hyper‑parameter or architectural changes. The authors suggest that neurosymbolic machine learning, exemplified by models such as Fable and Astra, represents a shift toward symbolic model synthesis, moving beyond purely statistical LLMs.

By Hector Zenil, Abicumaran Uthamacumaran, Luan Ozelim
arXiv AI
Aug 12

On Solomonoff Induction in Large Language Models and the Limits of Self-Improving: The Singularity Is Not Near Without Symbolic Model Synthesis

arXiv:2601. 05280v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: On the one hand, the question of whether large language models (LLMs) are Solomonoff induction estimators has become an explicit question at the intersection of Algorithmic Information Theory (AIT) and Machine Learning (ML) of great interest.

By Hector Zenil