{"id":1146799,"date":"2025-08-06T06:09:59","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T13:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-research-item&#038;p=1146799"},"modified":"2025-08-06T06:11:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T13:11:32","slug":"cognitive-loop-via-in-situ-optimization-self-adaptive-reasoning-for-science","status":"publish","type":"msr-research-item","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/publication\/cognitive-loop-via-in-situ-optimization-self-adaptive-reasoning-for-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Cognitive Loop via In-Situ Optimization: Self-Adaptive Reasoning for Science"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The capacity for artificial intelligence (AI) to formulate, evolve, and test altered thought patterns<br \/>\nunder dynamic conditions indicates advanced cognition that is crucial for scientific discovery. The<br \/>\nexisting AI development landscape falls into two categories: 1) frameworks over non-reasoning models<br \/>\nthat natively incorporate opinions on how humans think, and 2) reasoning models that abstract<br \/>\nprecise control of the reasoning intuition away from end users. While powerful, for scientists to<br \/>\nmaximize utility of AI in scientific discovery, they not only require accuracy and transparency in<br \/>\nreasoning, but also steerability. Hence, we introduce an alternative approach that enables deep and<br \/>\nprecise control over the reasoning process called: a cognitive loop via in-situ optimization (CLIO).<br \/>\nCLIO enables large language models (LLMs) to self-formulate ways of approaching a problem, adapt<br \/>\nbehavior when self-confidence is low, and ultimately provide scientists with a final belief or answer.<br \/>\nThrough CLIO\u2019s open design, scientists can observe uncertainty levels, understand how final belief<br \/>\nstates are formulated using graph structures, and interject corrections. Without any further post\u0002training, OpenAI\u2019s GPT-4.1 with CLIO yields an accuracy of 22.37% in text-based biology and<br \/>\nmedicine questions on Humanity\u2019s Last Exam (HLE). This yields a 13.82% net or 161.64% relative<br \/>\nincrease when compared to the base GPT-4.1 model and surpasses OpenAI\u2019s o3 performance in high<br \/>\nand low reasoning effort modes. We further discovered that oscillations within internal uncertainty<br \/>\nmeasures are key in determining the accuracy of CLIO\u2019s results, revealing how its open design and<br \/>\ninternal mechanisms can provide insight and control into scientific decision-making processes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The capacity for artificial intelligence (AI) to formulate, evolve, and test altered thought patterns under dynamic conditions indicates advanced cognition that is crucial for scientific discovery. The existing AI development landscape falls into two categories: 1) frameworks over non-reasoning models that natively incorporate opinions on how humans think, and 2) reasoning models that abstract precise [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"msr-url-field":"","msr-podcast-episode":"","msrModifiedDate":"","msrModifiedDateEnabled":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","msr-author-ordering":[{"type":"user_nicename","value":"Newman Cheng","user_id":"43263"},{"type":"user_nicename","value":"Gordon Broadbent","user_id":"43924"},{"type":"user_nicename","value":"William 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