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Foundation Lab

Deliberative Alignment

Trains models on explicit specifications rather than implicit reward shaping

Concept 85 of 100Scaling & AlignmentPhase 12
#85DeliberativeScaling & Alignment
key equation\max_\pi \mathbb{E}[r_{\text{help}}] + \lambda \mathbb{E}[v_S]

Selected Foundation Object

Keep the equation fixed; move through the evidence.

Concept 85 of 100DeliberativeScaling & Alignment / Phase 12: Advanced alignment & safety research
Current question

Model retrieves relevant policy text, reasons about it, then responds

\max_\pi \mathbb{E}[r_{\text{help}}] + \lambda \mathbb{E}[v_S]
PredictionCommit before the demo.

Ask what should change when the equation is manipulated, then let the visualization test that expectation.

EvidenceCompare local witness and source.

Use the runnable panel, the key equation, and canonical papers as separate forms of evidence for the same object.

InvariantName what survives notation changes.

The useful learning product is the reusable mechanism you can carry into another model, paper, or engineering tradeoff.

Next moveContinue through the atlas.

Use prerequisites, dependents, and semantic links to repair the next gap without leaving the object behind.

Why It Matters for Modern Models

  • Trains models on explicit specifications rather than implicit reward shaping
  • Enables auditability: which policy clauses were consulted?
  • Reduces over-refusal while improving jailbreak robustness

What Tutorials Skip

What is still poorly explained in textbooks and papers:

  • Model retrieves relevant policy text, reasons about it, then responds
  • Like Constitutional AI but with explicit spec document in context
  • Pareto frontier: helpfulness vs safety vs over-refusal

Interactive Visualization

Core Math (Optional Deep Dive)

If you want intuition first, start with the key equation and the visualization. Come back here for the full walkthrough.

Key Equation
maxπE[rhelp]+λE[vS]\max_\pi \mathbb{E}[r_{\text{help}}] + \lambda \mathbb{E}[v_S]

Train model to reason over safety specifications SS:

Constrained optimization view:

maxπE[rhelp(x,y)]s.t.E[vS(x,y)]τ\max_\pi \mathbb{E}[r_{\text{help}}(x,y)] \quad \text{s.t.} \quad \mathbb{E}[v_S(x,y)] \ge \tau

Lagrangian form:

maxπE[rhelp]+λE[vS]\max_\pi \mathbb{E}[r_{\text{help}}] + \lambda \mathbb{E}[v_S]

where vSv_S scores compliance with spec text SS.

Canonical Papers

Deliberative Alignment: Reasoning Enables Safer Language Models

OpenAI2024arXiv
Read paper →

Connections

Next Moves

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