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ARXIV:2605.07990 · LLM AGENTS · SUBMITTED 11 MAY · 20:47 UTC · FRESHNESS STALE
ARXIV:2605.07990LLM AGENTSSUBMITTED 11 MAY · 20:47 UTCFRESHNESS STALEZekun Wu · Ze Wang · Seonglae Cho · Yufei Yang · Adriano Koshiyama · Sahan Bulathwela · +1 at arXiv
This research identifies a linear and steerable mechanism within language models for tool selection, enabling error prediction and targeted intervention.
Opportunity summary
Pain This research identifies a linear and steerable mechanism within language models for tool selection, enabling error prediction and targeted intervention.
Evidence 0 refs | 3 sources | 50% coverage
Blocker Evidence unverified
This research identifies a linear and steerable mechanism within language models for tool selection, enabling error prediction and targeted intervention. Probing 12 instruction-tuned models across Gemma 3, Qwen 3, Qwen 2.5, and Llama 3.1…
When a tool-calling agent picks the wrong tool, the failure is invisible until execution: the email gets sent, the meeting gets missed. Probing 12 instruction-tuned models across Gemma 3, Qwen 3, Qwen 2.5, and…
ScienceToStartup currently rates this 4.0/10 on the public viability pass. We measure tool identity selection and JSON schema correctness in single-turn fixed-menu settings; multi-turn agentic transfer is more fragile and is discussed in Limitations.
LLM Agents moved forward this cycle; last verified May 2026. Public score 4.0/10.
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mobile layout uses overflow-hidden min-w-0 break-wordsOpportunity summary
Score4.0Public score shown from the verified overall while the stale axis breakdown refreshesAnalysis summary
This research identifies a linear and steerable mechanism within language models for tool selection, enabling error prediction and targeted intervention.
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Paper Pack
10.48550/arXiv.2605.07990This research identifies a linear and steerable mechanism within language models for tool selection, enabling error prediction and targeted intervention.
Abstract
When a tool-calling agent picks the wrong tool, the failure is invisible until execution: the email gets sent, the meeting gets missed. Probing 12 instruction-tuned models across Gemma 3, Qwen 3, Qwen 2.5, and Llama 3.1 (270M to 27B), we find the identity of the chosen tool is linearly readable and steerable inside the model. Adding the mean-difference between two tools' average internal activations switches which tool the model selects at 77-100% accuracy on name-only single-turn prompts (93-100% at 4B+), and the JSON arguments that follow autoregressively match the new tool's schema, so flipping the name is enough. The same per-tool means also flag likely errors before they happen: on Gemma 3 12B and 27B, queries where the gap between the top-1 and top-2 tool is smallest produce 14-21x more wrong calls than queries with the largest gap. The causal effect concentrates along one direction, the row of the output layer that produces the target tool's first token: a unit vector along it at matched magnitude already reaches 93-100%, while what is left over leaves the choice almost untouched. Activation patching localises this to a small set of mid- and late-layer attention heads, and a within-topic probe across 14 same-domain $τ$-bench airline tools reaches top-1 61-89% across five 4B-14B models, ruling out the reading that we are just moving the model along a topic axis. Even base models encode the right tool before they can emit it: cosine readout from the internal state recovers 69-82% on BFCL while base generation reaches only 2-10%, suggesting pretraining forms the representation and instruction tuning later wires it to the output. We measure tool identity selection and JSON schema correctness in single-turn fixed-menu settings; multi-turn agentic transfer is more fragile and is discussed in Limitations.
Source availability
PDF linkedThe paper record includes a public PDF URL.
Extraction status
Parse run linkedA document parse run is attached to this paper.
Proof status
unverified0 refs; 3 sources; 50% coverage.
What was readable
Derived fallback: Estimated from adjacent evidence; not verified from source.
Viability
Time to MVP
Commercial
Export
Preparing verified analysis
Dimensions overall score 4.0
PROBLEM
This research identifies a linear and steerable mechanism within language models for tool selection, enabling error prediction and targeted intervention. Probing 12 instruction-tuned models across Gemma 3, Qwen 3, Qwen 2.5, and Llama 3.1 (270M to 27B), we find the identity of th...
METHOD
When a tool-calling agent picks the wrong tool, the failure is invisible until execution: the email gets sent, the meeting gets missed. Probing 12 instruction-tuned models across Gemma 3, Qwen 3, Qwen 2.5, and Llama 3.1 (270M to 27B), we find the identity of the chosen tool is l...
RESULT
ScienceToStartup currently rates this 4.0/10 on the public viability pass. We measure tool identity selection and JSON schema correctness in single-turn fixed-menu settings; multi-turn agentic transfer is more fragile and is discussed in Limitations.
WHY NOW
LLM Agents moved forward this cycle; last verified May 2026. Public score 4.0/10.
Abstract-backed public claims while anchored extraction refreshes.
This research identifies a linear and steerable mechanism within language models for tool selection, enabling error prediction and targeted intervention. Probing 12 instruction-tuned models across Gemma 3, Qwen 3, Qwen 2.5, and Llama 3.1 (270M to 27B), we find the identity of the chosen tool is linearly readable and steerable inside the model.
Abstract-backed fallback claim; anchored extraction has not materialized a public claim row yet.
partial
When a tool-calling agent picks the wrong tool, the failure is invisible until execution: the email gets sent, the meeting gets missed. Probing 12 instruction-tuned models across Gemma 3, Qwen 3, Qwen 2.5, and Llama 3.1 (270M to 27B), we find the identity of the chosen tool is linearly readable and steerable inside the model.
Abstract-backed fallback claim; anchored extraction has not materialized a public claim row yet.
partial
ScienceToStartup currently rates this 4.0/10 on the public viability pass. We measure tool identity selection and JSON schema correctness in single-turn fixed-menu settings; multi-turn agentic transfer is more fragile and is discussed in Limitations.
Abstract-backed fallback claim; anchored extraction has not materialized a public claim row yet.
partial
LLM Agents moved forward this cycle; last verified May 2026. Public score 4.0/10.
Abstract-backed fallback claim; anchored extraction has not materialized a public claim row yet.
partial
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Concepts
Methods
Materials
Markets
Competitors
This research identifies a linear and steerable mechanism within language models for tool selection, enabling error prediction and targeted intervention.
Segment
LLM Agents
Adoption evidence
No public code link in the paper record yet
Commercial read
4.0/10 public viability
Direct
Adjacent
Substitute
Unknown
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Hacker News
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Not indexed yet
Bluesky
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Reference metadata is not materialized in the public index yet. The source PDF remains the authority; cache refresh is optional.
CITED BY
No citing papers are indexed in the public S2S graph yet. This is an explicit zero-signal state, not a hidden lookup.
Foundation
Extension
Commercially relevant
Conflicting
Owned Distribution
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2/3 checks · 67%
Build Passport
Build passport pending - Proof Lab budget No verified cost estimate / $7.00 cap
status
missing
reason
passport_row_missing
proof status
unverified
cost/budget
No verified cost estimate
confidence low
next verification path
Build brief missing until Build Passport data exists.
Source missing: Build Passport payload.
Experiment plan missing until prototype path is available.
No prototype path attached.
Validation checklist missing until required assets, cost, and regulatory flags are verified.
No checklist artifact is attached to the Build Passport payload.
Derived signals show verified:false until source-backed receipts exist.
Evidence coverage
OpportunityKernel evidence_receipt
0 refs / 3 sources / 50% coverage
stale
Verify missing sources before using this as buyer proof. verified:false
Build readiness
BuildPassport EvidenceState
passport absent
stale
Run Proof Lab or inspect typed missing state. verified:false
Artifact maturity
GitHub and Hugging Face maturity payloads
No public artifact surface observed
stale
Open source artifacts or mark the gap as missing. verified:false
Technical feasibility
partial
Current read
Runnable path is not fully verified.
Evidence
No Build Passport payload attached.
Gaps
Next test
Run minimal reproduction from the Build Passport prototype path.
Market urgency
missing
Current read
Buyer urgency is not verified from source.
Evidence
0 references, 3 sources, 50% evidence coverage.
Gaps
Next test
Collect buyer interview, deployment evidence, or cited demand signal.
Buyer clarity
missing
Current read
No budget owner is verified for this paper.
Evidence
Build tab has no CRM, procurement, or operator source.
Gaps
Next test
Map target operator, economic buyer, and procurement trigger.
Defensibility
missing
Current read
Defensibility signals are missing.
Evidence
No defensibility receipt attached.
Gaps
Next test
Refresh defensibility bars with source receipts.
Integration burden
missing
Current read
No public implementation surface observed.
Evidence
No GitHub or Hugging Face payload attached.
Gaps
Next test
Write integration checklist from prototype path and target workflow.
Capital intensity
missing
Current read
No observed cost estimate is verified.
Evidence
Cost passport has no observed_usd value.
Gaps
Next test
Run cost passport or mark the cost field not applicable.
Regulatory load
missing
Current read
No regulatory classification is attached.
Evidence
Build Passport ledger does not include regulatory flags.
Gaps
Next test
Classify regulatory flags before commercialization planning.
No named scientific founder assigned.
Paper authors are not treated as operators without consent.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
Prototype owner missing.
Build Passport does not name an implementer.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
Operator workflow not sourced.
No buyer or workflow interview attached.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
No GTM owner verified.
No CRM or outreach source attached.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
Regulatory need unclassified.
No clinical or regulatory source attached.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
ARTIFACTS
No public artifacts yet.
DEFENSIBILITY
Defensibility and confidence evidence pending.
WATCHTOWER
No verified watchtower monitor rows yet.
FORESIGHT
No prediction yet — minted on next Foresight batch.
OPPORTUNITYKERNEL CHANGES SINCE LAST VIEW
No verified OpportunityKernel changes since the last view.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE UPDATES
No verified competitive landscape changes yet.
RELATED PAPER UPDATES
No verified related paper changes yet.
SIGNAL CANVAS HISTORY AND DELTAS
No Signal Canvas history deltas yet.
TIMELINE
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Score trend will appear after multiple data points.
BUZZ
Buzz trend pending.