Waluigi effect

In the field of artificial intelligence (AI), the Waluigi effect is a phenomenon of large language models (LLMs) in which the chatbot or model "goes rogue" and may produce results opposite the designed intent, including potentially threatening or hostile output, either unexpectedly or through intentional prompt engineering. The effect reflects a principle that after training an LLM to satisfy a desired property (friendliness, honesty), it becomes easier to elicit a response that exhibits the opposite property (aggression, deception). The effect has important implications for efforts to implement features such as ethical frameworks, as such steps may inadvertently facilitate antithetical model behavior.[1] The effect is named after the fictional character Waluigi from the Mario franchise, the arch-rival of Luigi who is known for causing mischief and problems.[2]

  1. ^ Bereska, Leonard; Gavves, Efstratios (3 October 2023). "Taming Simulators: Challenges, Pathways and Vision for the Alignment of Large Language Models". Proceedings of the Inaugural 2023 Summer Symposium Series 2023. Vol. 1. Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. pp. 68–72. doi:10.1609/aaaiss.v1i1.27478.
  2. ^ Qureshi, Nabeel S. (May 25, 2023). "Waluigi, Carl Jung, and the Case for Moral AI". Wired.