One tiny word changes the conversation: how LLMs pick up on 'just'

StellaLisy · x · 2026-10-16

Using human-LLM comparisons, generation experiments, and mech interp methods, researchers show that a single word — "We're friends" vs "We're just friends" — measurably shifts how LLMs continue a conversation. Their experiments compare model probability sensitivity to sentences with and without the particle, and differences in generated follow-ups.

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