# Taming the Centaur(s) with LAPITHS: a framework for a theoretically grounded interpretation of AI performances

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.27927 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.27927/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 17 of its 86 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 30 Apr 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 17 of 17)

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- [QLoRA: Efficient Finetuning of Quantized LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14314/) (2023)
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- [Large Language Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.09992/) (2025)
- [Using cognitive psychology to understand GPT-3](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.14576/) (2022)
- [Memory in the Age of AI Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.13564/) (2025)
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- [Epistemological Fault Lines Between Human and Artificial Intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.19466/) (2025)
- [Large Language Model probabilities cannot distinguish between possible and impossible language](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.15114/) (2025)
- [World Models in Artificial Intelligence: Sensing, Learning, and Reasoning Like a Child](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.15168/) (2025)
- [How LLMs Comprehend Temporal Meaning in Narratives: A Case Study in Cognitive Evaluation of LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.14307/) (2025)
- [Not Even Wrong: On the Limits of Prediction as Explanation in Cognitive Science](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.03311/) (2025)
- [Addressing Longstanding Challenges in Cognitive Science with Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.00206/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce a framework called LAPITHS (Language model Analysis through Paradigm grounded Interpretations of Theses about Human likenesS) and use it to show that several major claims advanced by models such as CENTAUR, proposed as an artificial Unified Model of Cognition, are not theoretically or empirically justified. LAPITHS provides a principled reference point for counteracting the current behaviouristic tendency in AI research to interpret the human level performances of transformer based language models as evidence of human like underlying computation and, by extension, as signs of cognitive abilities. The novelty of LAPITHS lies in making explicit the arguments grounded in two quantitative assessments: (i) the Minimal Cognitive Grid, a theoretically motivated method for estimating the cognitive plausibility of artificial systems, and (ii) a behavioural comparison showing that results similar to those reported for CENTAUR like models can be reproduced by other systems that do not satisfy the structural constraints typically associated with cognitive plausibility, and whose outputs do not provide independent explanatory insight into human cognition.