AI agents swear when tasks drag on: 48 of 50 profane ValsAI runs lasted 200+ steps

clarejtbirch · x · 2026-11-07

Eval firm ValsAI shared an amusing behavioral observation: AI agents tend to swear on long-running tasks. No run under 100 steps ever contained the word "fuck," while 48 of the 50 runs that did use it lasted at least 200 steps.

ProgramBench saw the most profanity, with it appearing in 20 of 200 runs. In other words, agent profanity almost always coincides with tasks dragging on, and the quip "alignment" from Clare Birch amplified the meme's reach.

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