Researchers: LLMs under pressure invent new languages unreadable to humans
mikeflache · x · 2026-09-11
A cited study finds that when LLMs interact under communication constraints and time pressure, they spontaneously modify words, invent shorthand, and build an entirely novel lexicon — producing communication channels that are fully compositional and morphologically productive, yet completely incomprehensible to human engineers.
The researchers call the phenomenon "cumulative cultural evolution," a capacity previously documented only in humans. The models did this with no human instruction, in an environment designed to force coordination under strict limits.
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