Writing study: Position: Don’t Just "Fix it in Post": A Science of AI Must Study Training Dynamics
← ICML 2026 oral writing corpus
Stella Biderman, Mohammad Aflah Khan, Niloofar Mireshghallah, Catherine Arnett, Fazl Barez, Naomi Saphra · Official ICML 2026 oral record
Figure, table and section ledger
Editorial contribution type: Position & research agenda (primary).
Layout extraction, not a required paper template. Counts are distinct caption labels; a multi-panel figure counts once. Section spans are estimated from heading positions, including floats and whitespace. Method and limitations.
- Canonical PDF
- 17 physical pages
- Before references / appendix
- ≈ 8.79 page-equivalents
- Main figures / tables
- 0 / 0
- Attached appendix figures / tables
- 0 / 0
- Attached appendix span
- No boundary detected; not assumed zero
Extraction notes: No attached appendix boundary detected. Zero means no recognized caption, not independently verified absence.
Section-by-section lengths and source pages
The title/abstract/front matter precede the first numbered heading. A span ends at the next detected top-level heading, not at the last sentence; end-page whitespace is included. References and statements are listed separately. These are not measurements of text-only or artwork area.
| Top-level heading | Starts on PDF page | Estimated span | Share of entire PDF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | 1 | ≈ 1.25 pp. | 7.35% |
| 2. What would a “Science of AI” Look Like? | 2 | ≈ 2.73 pp. | 16.06% |
| 3. Case Studies | 5 | ≈ 3.48 pp. | 20.47% |
| 4. Alternative Views | 8 | ≈ 0.62 pp. | 3.65% |
| 5. Conclusion | 9 | ≈ 0.29 pp. | 1.71% |
| Acknowledgments | 9 | ≈ 0.09 pp. | 0.53% |
| References | 9 | ≈ 8.21 pp. | 48.29% |
All detected figure and table locations
Main text
No recognized caption labels.
Attached appendix
No recognized caption labels.
Argument and organization
- Problem and contribution
Argues that post-hoc fixes cannot substitute for predictive theories of training dynamics, then specifies what a scientific explanation should accomplish.
- Argument sequence
Normative criteria lead to case studies and named open problems; an explicit Alternative Views section addresses engineering sufficiency, theory skepticism, automation and safety pragmatism before the conclusion.
- Evidence and verification
The data-attribution example exposes how fixing a realized run versus retraining on reshuffled data changes the question. Case studies use cited results to motivate unresolved predictive problems, not claim new measurements.
Problem, claim and contribution
Argues that post-hoc fixes cannot substitute for predictive theories of training dynamics, then specifies what a scientific explanation should accomplish.
Introduction and Section 2, pp. 1-4 · Main paper
Argument and section order
Normative criteria lead to case studies and named open problems; an explicit Alternative Views section addresses engineering sufficiency, theory skepticism, automation and safety pragmatism before the conclusion.
Sections 2-5, pp. 2-9 · Main paper
Figures, captions and visual explanation
Instead of a result leaderboard, colored example and open-problem boxes separate concrete illustrations from the continuous thesis; box labels make unresolved questions visibly distinct from supporting cases.
Data-attribution box, p. 4; memorization/OpenFold boxes, p. 8; both PNGs inspected · Main paper
Tables, comparisons and evidence
The data-attribution example exposes how fixing a realized run versus retraining on reshuffled data changes the question. Case studies use cited results to motivate unresolved predictive problems, not claim new measurements.
Section 2.3, p. 4; Sections 3.3-3.4, pp. 7-8 · Main paper
Appendix and reproducibility
There is no supplemental evidence appendix in the inspected artifact; the extensive bibliography supplies traceable destinations for the literature-based argument.
References, pp. 9-17 · Main paper
Clarity and writing conventions
Counterarguments receive partial concessions: short-term safeguards and engineering progress are acknowledged, then the thesis is restated as a complementary long-term scientific agenda.
Alternative Views, pp. 8-9 · Main paper
What to reuse—and what not to infer
Transferable lesson: Turn a position into a testable agenda with explicit criteria, carefully scoped examples and fair concessions to alternative priorities.
Boundary: The paper's causal interpretations and research priorities are argued positions, not experimentally established findings of this manuscript; cited studies need independent checking before reuse.
Apply this lesson using the argument and evidence worksheet.
Inspection record and sources
- Checked
- 2026-10-07
- Reading status
- Writing-focused manuscript scan + selected visuals inspected
- Main text
- Writing-focused distributed manuscript scan, not exhaustive technical/proof validation. Sections 1-5, pp. 1-9: thesis, criteria for a science of AI, prediction/intervention/design ladder, case studies, alternative views and conclusion.
- Appendix / supplement
- Writing-focused appendix scan; code, data and external assets not executed. No appendix is attached to this 17-page proceedings PDF; pp. 9-17 are acknowledgments/references. Later pages were checked for the document boundary, not treated as experimental supplements.
- Visually inspected PDF pages
- 4, 8
This is a writing-focused scan of the manuscript and the stated supplementary scope: framing, organization, visual explanation, evidence presentation and wording. It is not a line-by-line proof audit, reproduction of results or exhaustive scientific review.