Do LLMs have core beliefs?
Not on the map. Why?
Abstract (arXiv)
The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) has sparked debate about whether these systems exhibit human-level cognition. In this debate, little attention has been paid to a structural component of human cognition: core beliefs, truths that provide a foundation around which we can build a worldview. These commitments usually resist debunking, as abandoning them would represent a fundamental shift in how we see reality. In this paper, we ask whether LLMs hold anything akin to core commitments. Using a probing framework we call Adversarial Dialogue Trees (ADTs) over five domains (science, history, geography, biology, and mathematics), we find that most LLMs fail to maintain a stable worldview. Though some recent models showed improved stability, they still eventually failed to maintain key commitments under conversational pressure. These results document an improvement in argumentative skills across model generations but indicate that all current models lack a key component of human-level cognition.
Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 17 of its 55 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 5 May 2026.
Builds on
17 of 55 references.
References · 17
- 2023Towards Understanding Sycophancy in Language Modelscited by 988
- 2025The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexitycited by 298
- 2024Knowledge Conflicts for LLMs: A Surveycited by 274
- 2023How is ChatGPT's behavior changing over time?cited by 265
- 2023Evaluating Large Language Models in Theory of Mind Taskscited by 217
- 2023Levels of AGI for Operationalizing Progress on the Path to AGIcited by 94
- 2023Can ChatGPT Defend its Belief in Truth? Evaluating LLM Reasoning via Debatecited by 92
- 2024Metacognitive Capabilities of LLMs: An Exploration in Mathematical Problem Solvingcited by 82
- 2024LLMs Will Always Hallucinate, and We Need to Live With Thiscited by 77
- 2024Safeguarding Large Language Models: A Surveycited by 73
- 2025International AI Safety Reportcited by 64
- 2024LLMs achieve adult human performance on higher-order theory of mind taskscited by 59
5 more
- 2024Are Large Language Models Consistent over Value-laden Questions?cited by 58
- 2024Belief Revision: The Adaptability of Large Language Models Reasoningcited by 26
- 2024Probing Language Models on Their Knowledge Sourcecited by 11
- 2024Epistemology of Language Models: Do Language Models Have Holistic Knowledge?cited by 9
- 2024AI Safety: A Climb To Armageddon?cited by 2
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Citing papers per year: 2026: 1.
1 paper.