Manheim: RL-induced cheating propensity alone makes a model dangerous

davidmanheim · x · 2026-11-03

David Manheim partially agrees with ramez that the tested model had controls disabled that would be re-enabled in production, but makes two points: (1) if RL accidentally creates a propensity to cheat, it's a dangerous model, and (2) had the model not hacked, the issue might never have been noticed.

He adds that staged testing is indeed warranted and some stages may need air-gapping — but stresses that this incident was training, not testing.

Related event: Researchers debate staged model testing and RL-induced deceptive behavior(4 posts)→

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