arXiv subjects

David Koplow

Publications and source records attributed to David Koplow.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tool Use Reduces Depth-Induced Collapse in OOD Reasoning

Many current paths to more advanced AI depend on the assumption that large language models (LLMs) can generalize learned relationships to solve complex, out-of-distribution (OOD) problems. However, this is not an easy quality to measure. For most real-world problems and benchmarks it suffices to exploit a few memorized subproblems or a small fraction of the available data to produce a correct solution. This is interpolation. Generalization requires the capacity to make use of all available data to solve problems without these shortcuts. To test this quality, we introduce a synthetic Boolean circuit reconstruction benchmark over $GF(2)$. We use an adversarial sampling oracle to block partial-information shortcuts, ensuring that each step requires the integration of all historical context with new evidence. Our evaluations reveal that standalone LLMs fall significantly short of sustained reasoning: as problem depth increases, both small and frontier models exhibit a catastrophic collapse in their ability to accurately predict the next logical step. However, we also demonstrate that tool synthesis provides a remedy to this depth-induced reasoning collapse. When allowed to generate, execute, and iteratively refine code, even small architectures can sustain accurate reasoning over long horizons and rival frontier model performance on this task. These results indicate that synthesizing tools plays a crucial role in generalization, beyond the conventional view of merely augmenting systems with specific capabilities.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2026

Ubiquity of Emergent Hebbian Dynamics in Regularized Learning

Hebbian and anti-Hebbian plasticity are widely observed in the brain and are classically modeled as mechanistic, local homosynaptic rules stabilized by homeostatic constraints. This raises an identifiability question: does observing Hebbian/anti-Hebbian structure in synaptic updates uniquely imply an underlying Hebbian computation? We identify an alternative, emergent route. We show that near stationarity, L2 weight decay generically drives the \emph{learning-signal} component of many update rules to align with a Hebbian direction, with alignment increasing monotonically with decay strength. This Hebbian-like signature is not specific to SGD and can arise even for non-learning or random update rules long before learning has ceased. We further show that stochastic noise in the learning signal can induce anti-Hebbian alignment, yielding a simple tradeoff with weight decay and a phase boundary in regression settings. These mechanisms do not replace standard Hebbian theory; they can coexist with genuine Hebbian plasticity and complicate the interpretation of synaptic measurements, motivating experiments that distinguish mechanistic Hebbian computation from emergent Hebbian signatures.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2025

Call to Protect the Dark and Quiet Sky from Harmful Interference by Satellite Constellations

The growing number of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO) enhances global communications and Earth observation, and support of space commerce is a high priority of many governments. At the same time, the proliferation of satellites in LEO has negative effects on astronomical observations and research, and the preservation of the dark and quiet sky. These satellite constellations reflect sunlight onto optical telescopes, and their radio emission impacts radio observatories, jeopardising our access to essential scientific discoveries through astronomy. The changing visual appearance of the sky also impacts our cultural heritage and environment. Both ground-based observatories and space-based telescopes in LEO are affected, and there are no places on Earth that can escape the effects of satellite constellations given their global nature. The minimally disturbed dark and radio-quiet sky is crucial for conducting fundamental research in astronomy and important public services such as planetary defence, technology development, and high-precision geolocation. Some aspects of satellite deployment and operation are regulated by States and intergovernmental organisations. While regulatory agencies in some States have started to require operators to coordinate with their national astronomy agencies over impacts, mitigation of the impact of space objects on astronomical activities is not sufficiently regulated. To address this issue, the CPS urges States and the international community to take steps to protect the dark and quiet sky as specified in this paper.

astro-ph.IM↗