Get the latest tech news

Anthropic researchers discover the weird AI problem: Why thinking longer makes models dumber


Anthropic research reveals AI models perform worse with extended reasoning time, challenging industry assumptions about test-time compute scaling in enterprise deployments.

Artificial intelligence models that spend more time “thinking” through problems don’t always perform better — and in some cases, they get significantly worse, according to new research from Anthropic that challenges a core assumption driving the AI industry’s latest scaling efforts. The study, led by Anthropic AI safety fellow Aryo Pradipta Gema and other company researchers, identifies what they call “ inverse scaling in test-time compute,” where extending the reasoning length of large language models actually deteriorates their performance across several types of tasks. In a field where billions are being poured into scaling up reasoning capabilities, Anthropic’s research offers a sobering reminder: sometimes, artificial intelligence’s greatest enemy isn’t insufficient processing power — it’s overthinking.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Venture Beat

Read more on:

Photo of Models

Models

Photo of weird AI problem

weird AI problem

Related news:

News photo

Subliminal learning: Models transmit behaviors via hidden signals in data

News photo

All AI models might be the same

News photo

WeTransfer Backtracks on Terms Suggesting User Files Could Train AI Models After Backlash