2025/01/02 by Youcheng Huang, Huang, Youcheng, Chen Huang +7 · 2 citations
Computer Science · #Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI) #Computation and Language (cs.CL) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Natural Language Processing Techniques #Semantic Web and Ontologies #Topic Modeling
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2501.02009
openalex publication_date 2025/01/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Understanding the inner workings of Large Language Models (LLMs) is a critical research frontier. Prior research has shown that a single LLM's concept representations can be captured as steering vectors (SVs), enabling the control of LLM behavior (e.g., towards generating harmful content). Our work takes a novel approach by exploring the intricate relationships between concept representations across different LLMs, drawing an intriguing parallel to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. In particular, we introduce a linear transformation method to bridge these representations and present three key findings: 1) Concept representations across different LLMs can be effectively aligned using simple linear transformations, enabling efficient cross-model transfer and behavioral control via SVs. 2) This linear transformation generalizes across concepts, facilitating alignment and control of SVs representing different concepts across LLMs. 3) A weak-to-strong transferability exists between LLM concept representations, whereby SVs extracted from smaller LLMs can effectively control the behavior of larger LLMs.