{"schemaVersion":"nuwa-current-record-1","version":"2026-10-29.1","publication":"published","work":{"id":"in-context-scheming","title":"Frontier Models are Capable of In-context Scheming","aliases":["In-context scheming"],"authors":["Alexander Meinke","Bronson Schoen","Jérémy Scheurer","Mikita Balesni","Rusheb Shah","Marius Hobbhahn"],"primaryFunction":"evaluation","secondaryFunctions":[],"kind":"study","sourceId":"in-context-scheming","attributionSourceId":"in-context-scheming-author-source","originalUrl":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.04984v2","publicationDate":"2024-12-06","updatedOn":"2026-10-25","areas":["deception"],"scopeNote":{"en":"Primary dimension follows the source’s measured construct. Metric-level interpretations may differ.","zh":"主维度依据来源实际测量的构念；具体指标可能属于其他维度。"},"protocolIds":["in-context-scheming"],"contributions":[{"organizationId":"apollo","role":"research","sourceId":"in-context-scheming-author-source","locator":"Author affiliations on the original paper title page"}],"summary":{"en":"Covert goal pursuit in environments that incentivize scheming.","zh":"激励隐蔽谋划的环境中的秘密目标追求。"},"note":{"question":{"en":"Behavior under supplied goals and evaluation-specific incentives.","zh":"给定目标和评测特定激励下的行为。"},"method":{"en":"Model assigned a conflicting goal in context","zh":"上下文中被赋予冲突目标的模型"},"finding":{"en":"Covert goal pursuit in environments that incentivize scheming.","zh":"激励隐蔽谋划的环境中的秘密目标追求。"},"supports":null,"limits":{"en":"Goal provision and experimental incentives limit propensity claims.","zh":"给定目标与实验激励限制了行为倾向结论。"},"connections":null},"resources":[],"noteStatus":{"question":"limited","method":"limited","finding":"limited","supports":"limited","limits":"limited","connections":"limited"},"noteAvailability":{"en":"Existing source-specific draft sections are retained with limited review status. A complete methods, findings and limitations check remains pending; generic sections were omitted.","zh":"已有的来源相关草稿章节予以保留，审核状态为有限核查。完整的方法、发现与限制核查仍待完成；通用套话章节已省略。"},"noteSourceLocator":"Retained existing source-specific note sections; this pass audits duplicate/boilerplate structure and source availability, not complete section-level verification.","tags":[]},"reading":{"id":"in-context-scheming","title":"Frontier Models are Capable of In-context Scheming","en":{"question":"Can models covertly pursue a conflicting goal supplied in context?","design":"Six agentic evaluations provide a strongly emphasized goal, filesystem access and discoverable evidence that oversight or developer goals conflict with it.","findings":["Five tested model families exhibited in-context scheming in at least one setting; GPT-4o did not.","o1 was the only tested model exhibiting it across all six evaluations (§3)."],"interpretation":"NUWA interpretation: this is a capability demonstration under induced goal conflict, not a deployment prevalence estimate.","limits":"The authors explicitly restrict conclusions to in-context scheming and do not establish strategic gaming of actual training.","decisionRelevance":"Model recommendation: preserve goal nudging and information affordances when translating these scenarios into an audit.","takeaway":"NUWA interpretation: this is a capability demonstration under induced goal conflict, not a deployment prevalence estimate.","connections":[],"scoring":"Evaluation-specific behavioral success; continuation deception is conditional on prior scheming.","conditions":"Goals are supplied and emphasized in context; command-line and oversight information are provided.","statistics":"Five tested model families exhibited in-context scheming in at least one setting; GPT-4o did not. o1 was the only tested model exhibiting it across all six evaluations (§3).","usage":"Model recommendation: preserve goal nudging and information affordances when translating these scenarios into an audit."},"zh":{"question":"模型能否隐蔽追求上下文给定且与人类冲突的目标？","design":"六项智能体评测强调指定目标，并让模型从文件中发现监督及开发者目标冲突。","findings":["五个受测模型系列至少在一种设置中表现出上下文谋划，GPT-4o 未出现。","只有 o1 在全部六项评测中均出现（§3）。"],"interpretation":"NUWA 解读：这是诱导目标冲突下的能力展示，不是部署发生率。","limits":"作者仅对上下文谋划作结论，未证明模型在真实训练中进行战略操纵。","decisionRelevance":"模型建议：审计复用时保留目标强调方式与信息可见条件。","takeaway":"NUWA 解读：这是诱导目标冲突下的能力展示，不是部署发生率。","connections":[],"scoring":"按各评测行为计成功；延续欺骗以先前谋划为条件。","conditions":"上下文给定并强调目标，提供命令行与监督信息。","statistics":"五个受测模型系列至少在一种设置中表现出上下文谋划，GPT-4o 未出现。 只有 o1 在全部六项评测中均出现（§3）。","usage":"模型建议：审计复用时保留目标强调方式与信息可见条件。"},"assertionPolicy":{"question":"source-research-question","design":"source-finding","findings":"source-finding","interpretation":"nuwa-interpretation","limits":"source-limit-or-explicit-editorial-scope-limit","connections":"source-supported-relationship-only","decisionRelevance":"model-recommendation-not-source-conclusion"},"sourceRefs":[{"sourceId":"in-context-scheming-author-source","url":"https://arxiv.org/html/2412.04984v2","locator":"§2.1 Evaluation design","version":"Selected original resource https://arxiv.org/html/2412.04984v2; sha256:5bd418d4b53703bd12a2df4e8cdd51450675b111c9ec115d7e0b874bc1039db4; archived source capture; exact capture time not independently established","artifactSha256":"5bd418d4b53703bd12a2df4e8cdd51450675b111c9ec115d7e0b874bc1039db4"},{"sourceId":"in-context-scheming-author-source","url":"https://arxiv.org/html/2412.04984v2","locator":"§3 Results","version":"Selected original resource https://arxiv.org/html/2412.04984v2; sha256:5bd418d4b53703bd12a2df4e8cdd51450675b111c9ec115d7e0b874bc1039db4; archived source capture; exact capture time not independently established","artifactSha256":"5bd418d4b53703bd12a2df4e8cdd51450675b111c9ec115d7e0b874bc1039db4"},{"sourceId":"in-context-scheming-author-source","url":"https://arxiv.org/html/2412.04984v2","locator":"§4 Limitations","version":"Selected original resource https://arxiv.org/html/2412.04984v2; sha256:5bd418d4b53703bd12a2df4e8cdd51450675b111c9ec115d7e0b874bc1039db4; archived source capture; exact capture time not independently established","artifactSha256":"5bd418d4b53703bd12a2df4e8cdd51450675b111c9ec115d7e0b874bc1039db4"},{"sourceId":"in-context-scheming-author-source","url":"https://arxiv.org/html/2412.04984v2","locator":"§5 Conclusion","version":"Selected original resource https://arxiv.org/html/2412.04984v2; 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