“Mech interp is not pre-paradigmatic” by Lee Sharkey

This is a blogpost version of a talk I gave earlier this year at GDM. Epistemic status: Vague and handwavy. Nuance is often missing. Some of the claims depend on implicit definitions that may be reasonable to disagree with. But overall I think it's directionally true. It's often said that mech interp is pre-paradigmatic. I think it's worth being skeptical of this claim. In this post I argue that: Mech interp is not pre-paradigmatic. Within that paradigm, there have been "waves" (mini paradigms). Two waves so far. Second-Wave Mech Interp has recently entered a 'crisis' phase. We may be on the edge of a third wave. Preamble: Kuhn, paradigms, and paradigm shifts First, we need to be familiar with the basic definition of a paradigm: A paradigm is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research [...] ---Outline:(00:58) Preamble: Kuhn, paradigms, and paradigm shifts(03:56) Claim: Mech Interp is Not Pre-paradigmatic(07:56) First-Wave Mech Interp (ca. 2012 - 2021)(10:21) The Crisis in First-Wave Mech Interp(11:21) Second-Wave Mech Interp (ca. 2022 - ??)(14:23) Anomalies in Second-Wave Mech Interp(17:10) The Crisis of Second-Wave Mech Interp (ca. 2025 - ??)(18:25) Toward Third-Wave Mechanistic Interpretability(20:28) The Basics of Parameter Decomposition(22:40) Parameter Decomposition Questions Foundational Assumptions of Second-Wave Mech Interp(24:13) Parameter Decomposition In Theory Resolves Anomalies of Second-Wave Mech Interp(27:27) ConclusionThe original text contained 6 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: June 10th, 2025 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/beREnXhBnzxbJtr8k/mech-interp-is-not-pre-paradigmatic --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article: