DoM steering working at a localized layer doesn't prove localization is correct

johnhewtt · x · 2026-10-27

In a reply to arunasank, johnhewtt argues that a localization method might be wrong and the DoM activation-steering approach might also be wrong — so DoM working better at the layer chosen by localization doesn't validate either. The exchange continues the debate around his blog post on separating forms from estimators in interpretability, weighing localization+steering against fine-tuning (interpretable but effective vs. opaque).

Related event: Interpretability debate: steer by difference of means or by gradients?(6 posts)→

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