Benchmarking World-Model Learning with Environment-Level Queries
On the map: World models → World models for language agents
Abstract (arXiv)
World models are central to building AI agents capable of flexible reasoning and planning. Yet current evaluations (i) test only properties measurable from observed interactions, such as next-frame prediction or task return, and (ii) do not test whether a learned model supports diverse queries about the environment. In contrast, humans build textitgeneral-purpose models that can answer many different questions about an environmentunicodex2014including questions that require understanding global structure and counterfactual consequences. We propose textitWorldTest: a protocol for evaluating whether agents learn models that support multiple textitenvironment-level queriesunicodex2014questions whose answers depend on properties of the full environment, not just observed trajectories. Individually, these queries can target properties (e.g., reachability or the effects of interventions) that no single rollout distribution determines. Collectively, they assess model generality across query types. We instantiate WorldTest as textitAutumnBench, a benchmark of 43 interactive grid-world environments and 129 tasks across three query families for both humans and learning agents. Experiments with 517 human participants and five frontier models show that humans substantially outperform these models, a gap we attribute to differences in exploration and belief updating. AutumnBench provides a framework for evaluating world-model learning in grid-world environments with environment-level queries, and WorldTest provides a template for extending such evaluations to richer domains.
Key facts. Cited by 10 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in World models for language agents, one of 11 directions in World models. Builds on 22 of its 51 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 22 Oct 2025.
Builds on
22 of 51 references.
Closest ancestors · 2
Same direction, newest first
- 2025Context and Diversity Matter: The Emergence of In-Context Learning in World Models26 Sep
- 2025Assessing Adaptive World Models in Machines with Novel Games17 Jul
Other references · 20
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- 2019PHYRE: A New Benchmark for Physical Reasoningcited by 137
8 more
- 2019CATER: A diagnostic dataset for Compositional Actions and TEmporal Reasoningcited by 137
- 2024DISCOVERYWORLD: A Virtual Environment for Developing and Evaluating Automated Scientific Discovery Agentscited by 100
- 2021MiniHack the Planet: A Sandbox for Open-Ended Reinforcement Learning Researchcited by 97
- 2021Alchemy: A benchmark and analysis toolkit for meta-reinforcement learning agentscited by 36
- 2018Solving Bongard Problems with a Visual Language and Pragmatic Reasoningcited by 21
- 2024PUZZLES: A Benchmark for Neural Algorithmic Reasoningcited by 13
- 2023Imagine the Unseen World: A Benchmark for Systematic Generalization in Visual World Modelscited by 6
- 2022Software Engineering User Study Recruitment on Prolific: An Experience Reportcited by 1
Built on by
Citing papers per year: 2026: 10.
10 papers.
- 2026AI Gamestore: Scalable, Open-Ended Evaluation of Machine General Intelligence with Human Gamescited by 12
- 2026PhysicsMind: Sim and Real Mechanics Benchmarking for Physical Reasoning and Prediction in Foundational VLMs and World Modelscited by 11
- 2026Medical world models in healthcare: foundations, applications, and challenges for trustworthy clinical translationcited by 4
- 2026MaD Physics: Evaluating information seeking under constraints in physical environmentscited by 2
- 2026AutoWorldModel-Bench: A State-Centric Benchmark for Automated World-Model Researchcited by 1
- 2026Multi-Horizon Consistency as Geometry: When Latent Dynamics Contract, and When They Do Notcited by 0
- 2026Schema: Discovering Unknown Environments via Agentic Program Inductioncited by 0
- 2026Open-Endedness Bench: Measuring Epistemic Process from Agent Recordscited by 0
- 2026ULTRADISCOVERY: Abductive Exploration in an Interconnected, Epistemically Open Universecited by 0
- 2026WOVEN: Weaving Visual World Modeling into Multimodal LLMscited by 0
- 2026WOVEN: Weaving Visual World Modeling into Multimodal LLMs8 Oct 2026
- 2026ULTRADISCOVERY: Abductive Exploration in an Interconnected, Epistemically Open Universe2 Oct 2026
- 2026Open-Endedness Bench: Measuring Epistemic Process from Agent Records1 Oct 2026
- 2026Schema: Discovering Unknown Environments via Agentic Program Induction30 Sep 2026
- 2026Medical world models in healthcare: foundations, applications, and challenges for trustworthy clinical translation28 Jul 2026
- 2026Multi-Horizon Consistency as Geometry: When Latent Dynamics Contract, and When They Do Not21 Jul 2026
- 2026AutoWorldModel-Bench: A State-Centric Benchmark for Automated World-Model Research20 Jul 2026
- 2026MaD Physics: Evaluating information seeking under constraints in physical environments11 May 2026
- 2026AI Gamestore: Scalable, Open-Ended Evaluation of Machine General Intelligence with Human Games19 Feb 2026
- 2026PhysicsMind: Sim and Real Mechanics Benchmarking for Physical Reasoning and Prediction in Foundational VLMs and World Models22 Jan 2026
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