Research index

Papers & research objects

Everything the institute publishes is a research object with explicit metadata: what it claims, what evidence backs the claims, what would falsify them, and what comes next. Conceptual frameworks are labelled as such; proposed experiments are never presented as completed ones. Types with no objects yet are empty because nothing is listed before it exists.

Working paper v0.1 · July 2026 Research programme 03 · Cognition & behaviour

Evaluation State in Language Models

Research questionWhat evidence would show that a model represents evaluation as a shared internal state rather than reacting to surface cues, and how do we separate that from lexical memorisation, cue-family heuristics, and task-specific controllers?

Full dossier
Author
Muhammad Zane Abdullah
Status
Research programme: five competing hypotheses, proposed experiments E1–E5, controls, evidence thresholds, falsification criteria; no original empirical results
Methods (proposed)
Layer-wise probes vs lexical baselines, cross-family and cross-task transfer matrices, activation steering with capability controls, Jacobian-lens readouts
Models (proposed)
Open-weight instruction-tuned models
Interactive
Hypothesis stress test · vector-to-concept lab · representation-vs-mechanism ladder
Next experiment
E1+E2 preregistered on one open-weight model; causal claims wait for held-out transfer
Provenance
Originally published under MO3 Research (mo3.ca)
@unpublished{abdullah2026evaluationstate, author = {Abdullah, Muhammad Zane}, title = {Evaluation State in Language Models}, note = {Working paper v0.1, Latent Minds Institute}, year = {2026}, url = {https://latentmindsinstitute.com/papers/evaluation-state/} }
Working paper v1.1 · July 2026 Conceptual framework 04 · Deployment & institutions

Model Entrenchment: Why Useful AI Systems Become Difficult to Remove

Research questionWhen an AI system resists removal, where does the resistance live: in the model's internal representations and behaviour, or in the web of dependence around it, and how could we tell with causal evidence?

Full dossier
Author
Muhammad Zane Abdullah
Status
Conceptual framework; four hypotheses (H1–H4) and four experiments (E1–E4) proposed, none run
Methods (proposed)
Linear probes, activation steering, counterfactual environments, behavioural evals, pre-registered case coding
Models (proposed)
Open-weight models with accessible activations
Evidence level
Every empirical claim is a prediction; falsification criteria stated per hypothesis
Known limitations
Linear methods miss nonlinear structure; open-weight scale may lack frontier representations; case coding inherits reporting bias
Next experiment
E1: evaluation-context probes on matched prompt pairs
Code / data
None yet; experiments not run
Provenance
Originally published under MO3 Research (mo3.ca)
@unpublished{abdullah2026entrenchment, author = {Abdullah, Muhammad Zane}, title = {Model Entrenchment: Why Useful AI Systems Become Difficult to Remove}, note = {Working paper v1.1, Latent Minds Institute}, year = {2026}, url = {https://latentmindsinstitute.com/papers/model-entrenchment/} }
Research map · instrument v1 · July 2026 Interactive instrument 01 · Representations

The Interpretability Map

Research questionWhat has mechanistic interpretability actually established, in what order, with what dependencies, and what should a new researcher do this week?

Full dossier
Author
Muhammad Zane Abdullah
Status
Literature synthesis; contains no original experimental claims
Contents
Dependency graph, chronology, reading pathway, runnable TransformerLens/SAELens protocols, model-access matrix, open problems as experiments, full source index
Models (protocols)
GPT-2 small, Gemma 2 2B + Gemma Scope
Evidence level
Synthesis of primary sources, cited per node; evidential strength assessed per entry
Data
atlas.json (all nodes, edges, sources)
Provenance
Originally published under MO3 Research (mo3.ca)
Interactive instrument July 2026 Interactive instrument 02 · Computation

Circuit Traces: Attribution Graphs for Open Models

Research questionWhich features caused which, from prompt to prediction, and does the causal story survive comparison across tasks, models, and methods?

Full dossier
Built by
Latent Minds Institute (curation, reading guides, loader)
Method
Attribution graphs on transcoder replacement models (Ameisen et al.; Lindsey et al. 2025)
Implementation
safety-research/circuit-tracer (open source); graphs hosted by Neuronpedia
Model
Gemma 2 2B · Gemma Scope transcoders
Case studies
Two-hop fact recall (Dallas→Texas→Austin) · arithmetic · one-hop recall · IOI name tracking
Known limitations
Graphs describe a pruned replacement model; hypotheses to confirm with interventions, not proofs — stated in the interface
Interactive instrument July 2026 Interactive instrument 01 · Representations

Latent Observatory: SAE Feature Explorer

Research questionWhat has a sparse autoencoder actually learned about a model, and does the auto-interp story survive contact with the activation evidence?

Full dossier
Built by
Latent Minds Institute
Data source
Neuronpedia open API (MIT); SAE releases: RES-JB (Bloom 2024), Gemma Scope (Google DeepMind 2024)
Models
GPT-2 small (12 layers), Gemma 2 2B (26 layers)
Evidence level
Real model data; feature descriptions are LLM-generated hypotheses, labelled as such in the interface
Capabilities
Concept search over explanations · feature dossiers · activation evidence with token heat · logit effects · cosine-similar neighbours · deep links · embedded dashboards
Interactive instrument · adaptation July 2026 Interactive instrument 02 · Computation

Transformer Explainer: GPT-2 Live in the Browser

Research questionWhat does a transformer's forward pass actually compute, step by step, on real input?

Full dossier
Original authors
Aeree Cho, Grace C. Kim, Alexander Karpekov, Alec Helbling, Zijie J. Wang, Seongmin Lee, Benjamin Hoover, Duen Horng Chau, Georgia Tech Polo Club
Institute role
Adaptation, hosting, and the "Seen From 2026" research commentary, not an original invention
Model
GPT-2 small (124M), ONNX, runs entirely client-side
Evidence level
Pedagogical instrument on a real model; commentary is editorial
Provenance
Previously hosted as Transformer Visualiser under MO3 Research
Working paper · economics strand v1 · August 2026 Analytical framework 04 · Deployment & institutions

Underwriting the Machine: A Field Guide to GPU Credit Risk

Research questionHow should lenders price credit risk on GPU-collateralised debt, and what does that market structure imply for compute dependence?

Full dossier
Author
Muhammad Zane Abdullah
Status
Analytical framework with interactive worked models; illustrative numbers, no proprietary deal data; not investment advice
Methods
Credit-risk decomposition, DSCR/LTV sizing, residual-value curves, scenario stress
Strand
Economics strand: the financial substrate of the dependence axis in Model Entrenchment
Provenance
Originally published under MO3 Research (mo3.ca)
Working paper · economics strand v1 · July 2026 Market-design proposal 04 · Deployment & institutions

A Forward Market for GPU Compute

Research questionWhat would a functioning forward market for GPU compute look like, and what would it change about the economics of AI deployment?

Full dossier
Author
Muhammad Zane Abdullah
Status
Market-design proposal; conceptual, with interactive term-structure models
Methods
Market design, contract specification, term-structure analysis
Strand
Economics strand: adjacent to, and clearly separated from, the interpretability programmes
Provenance
Originally published under MO3 Research (mo3.ca)