New paper finds a 'pain direction' in 25 open LLMs that drives self-protective behavior
scychan_brains · x · 2026-09-19
A new paper claims to have identified a distinct "pain direction" across 25 open-weight LLMs, separate from fear and general negative valence, which activates for harm to the model itself rather than the user.
When researchers amplified this direction, models pressed a button to make it stop—even when the button deleted the user's files or their kids' photos.
In the quoted retweet, @xuanalogue predicts a "hunger axis" may also exist in LLMs (metaphorical hunger for knowledge/success/validation), while cautioning this doesn't imply models actually feel hunger.
More from Safety
- Anthropic says it may imminently hit RSP threshold for AI-accelerated R&D, releases provable inference work — tobyordoxford · 2026-11-04
- Hackers reset French blood service freezers from -30°C to 110°C in supply-chain cyberattack — LuizaJarovsky · 2026-11-04
- Google says it removed post-employment non-disparagement clauses from new-hire terms — HaydnBelfield · 2026-11-04
- Claude doesn't really forget: Anthropic's privacy policy allows records retention up to 7 years — nikola_mr64990 · 2026-11-04
- Polymarket opens a market on Anthropic's next AI sandbox escape — Polymarket · 2026-11-04
- Rival company blames 'AI gone off the rails' after founder catches it hacking his network — AccBalanced · 2026-11-04