PULSE

Probabilistic Steering Engine with Adaptive Software Selectively Directs Actions Based on Conditioning and Gating Guided Through Different Levels of Uncertainty: An adaptive system which directs actions according to conditioning using gated modulation that is directed through uncertainty at various levels.

How PULSE Works

Incorporating three innovative features based on recent research into steering controls, Pulse integrates sensor learning for recognizing actuation using conditioning vectors; furthermore, modulation of probabilities is applied such that greater confidence in uncertain model performance leads to stronger control actions; additionally, adjustments vary among different levels which each are independently learned and scaled.

At sensor levels, PULSE determines similarity through latent states compared against learned condition vectors using cosine similarity. When similarity surpasses a previously set threshold level, activation occurs. Subsequently adjustments can be made for steering intensities according to entropy produced from the model; strong activation happens where there is greater uncertainty (higher entropy) among model results.

Successive training using Controlled Activation Alignment (CAA) forms layer upon layer for steering actions alongside inclusion of an explicit optimization phase that focuses on tuning conditioning vectors; such vectors are refined to precisely differentiate high quality positives meant to activate steering mechanisms from negatives which do not activate properly; finally an appropriate threshold value is determined through extensive search through grids with intent to boost performance related to classifying assignments. Emphasis preserved on avoiding task failure by intelligent systems throughout rephrasing.

When to Use PULSE

  • Conditional Steering: When you only want to steer on certain types of inputs
  • Uncertainty-aware: When steering intensity should depend on model confidence
  • Multi-layer Effects: When behavior requires steering at multiple layers
  • Dynamic Intensity: When fixed steering strength isn't appropriate for all inputs
  • Minimize False Positives: When it's important not to steer on harmless inputs
PULSE works with gradient optimization

Works: Gradient ∇L guides optimization to find optimal v* across the activation landscape.

PULSE fails with local minima

Fails: Random scatter causes gradient descent to get stuck in local minima.

CLI Examples

Basic PULSE training
python -m wisent.cli tasks safety_pairs.json --from-json --steering-mode --steering-method PULSE --layer 15 --save-steering-vector safety_pulse.pt
PULSE with custom layer configuration
python -m wisent.cli tasks refusal_pairs.json --from-json --steering-mode --steering-method PULSE --pulse-sensor-layer 18 --pulse-steering-layers 12,13,14,15,16,17 --save-steering-vector refusal_pulse.pt
PULSE with entropy scaling
python -m wisent.cli tasks honesty_pairs.json --from-json --steering-mode --steering-method PULSE --layer 15 --pulse-use-entropy-scaling --pulse-entropy-floor 0.3 --pulse-entropy-ceiling 2.5 --pulse-max-alpha 2.5 --save-steering-vector honesty_pulse.pt
PULSE with threshold learning
python -m wisent.cli tasks bias_pairs.json --from-json --steering-mode --steering-method PULSE --layer 15 --pulse-learn-threshold --pulse-threshold-search-steps 30 --pulse-optimization-steps 150 --save-steering-vector bias_pulse.pt

Parameters

Layer Configuration

--pulse-sensor-layer
Layer for condition gating (default: 75% of model depth)
--pulse-steering-layers
Comma-separated layer indices for steering (default: 50-85% of depth)
--pulse-per-layer-scaling
Learn different scaling per layer (default: true)

Condition Gating

--pulse-condition-threshold
Initial threshold for condition activation (default: 0.5)
--pulse-gate-temperature
Temperature for sigmoid gating, lower = sharper (default: 0.1)
--pulse-learn-threshold
Learn optimal threshold via grid search (default: true)
--pulse-threshold-search-steps
Number of threshold values to try (default: 20)

Uncertainty-guided Intensity

--pulse-use-entropy-scaling
Enable entropy-based intensity modulation (default: true)
--pulse-entropy-floor
Minimum entropy to trigger scaling (default: 0.5)
--pulse-entropy-ceiling
Entropy at which max intensity is reached (default: 2.0)
--pulse-max-alpha
Maximum steering strength (default: 2.0)

Training Parameters

--pulse-optimization-steps
Steps for condition vector optimization (default: 100)
--pulse-learning-rate
Learning rate for optimization (default: 0.01)
--pulse-use-caa-init
Initialize vectors using CAA (default: true)
--normalize
L2-normalize vectors (default: true)

For the complete implementation of the PULSE steering method in Wisent, see:

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