Neural Networks Are Already Clean

Global Science Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:50:42 GMT Moderate confidence — 64/100

The Short VersionI think I have good news about the nature of neural networks.
After many months studying neurons and circuits in image and language models, I’ve come to believe a network’s own mechanisms are its legible building blocks, and that the outlook for mechanistic interpretability may be far better than I’d feared.
The canonical evidence of polysemanticity and superposition that convinced much of the field, including me, that networks pack concepts arbitrarily was misread.

The Short VersionI think I have good news about the nature of neural networks.
After many months studying neurons and circuits in image and language models, I’ve come to believe a network’s own mechanisms are its legible building blocks, and that the outlook for mechanistic interpretability may be far better than I’d feared.
The canonical evidence of polysemanticity and superposition that convinced much of the field, including me, that networks pack concepts arbitrarily was misread.

Sources: Goodfire