{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7164989076","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478","title":"Decoding Hidden Deception in Reasoning LLMs: Activation Explainers for Deception Auditing","display_name":"Decoding Hidden Deception in Reasoning LLMs: Activation Explainers for Deception Auditing","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-06-16","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7164989076","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"type":"preprint","indexed_in":["datacite"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138812044","display_name":"Kexin Chen","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Chen, Kexin","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138759608","display_name":"Yi Liu","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Liu, Yi","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138806062","display_name":"Haonan Zhang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhang, Haonan","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138813909","display_name":"Yanhui Li","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Yanhui","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5101467244","display_name":"Xinyu Deng","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6726-644X"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Deng, Xinyu","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138771926","display_name":"Dongxia Wang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Wang, Dongxia","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":0,"institutions_distinct_count":0,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12268","display_name":"Deception detection and forensic psychology","score":0.34779998660087585,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3207","display_name":"Social Psychology"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/32","display_name":"Psychology"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12268","display_name":"Deception detection and forensic psychology","score":0.34779998660087585,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3207","display_name":"Social Psychology"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/32","display_name":"Psychology"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.20000000298023224,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12026","display_name":"Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)","score":0.1859000027179718,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/deception","display_name":"Deception","score":0.9161999821662903},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/interpretability","display_name":"Interpretability","score":0.7663000226020813},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/schema","display_name":"Schema (genetic algorithms)","score":0.5756999850273132},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/audit","display_name":"Audit","score":0.5339000225067139},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/decoding-methods","display_name":"Decoding methods","score":0.43209999799728394},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/representation","display_name":"Representation (politics)","score":0.3418999910354614},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/syllogism","display_name":"Syllogism","score":0.3294999897480011}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779267917","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q170028","display_name":"Deception","level":2,"score":0.9161999821662903},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2781067378","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17027399","display_name":"Interpretability","level":2,"score":0.7663000226020813},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C52146309","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7431116","display_name":"Schema (genetic algorithms)","level":2,"score":0.5756999850273132},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C199521495","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q181487","display_name":"Audit","level":2,"score":0.5339000225067139},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.5077999830245972},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C15744967","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9418","display_name":"Psychology","level":0,"score":0.5038999915122986},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C180747234","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23373","display_name":"Cognitive psychology","level":1,"score":0.46389999985694885},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C57273362","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q576722","display_name":"Decoding methods","level":2,"score":0.43209999799728394},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C77805123","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q161272","display_name":"Social psychology","level":1,"score":0.41780000925064087},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.364300012588501},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776359362","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2145286","display_name":"Representation (politics)","level":3,"score":0.3418999910354614},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C131598440","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107342","display_name":"Syllogism","level":2,"score":0.3294999897480011},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780224610","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1530061","display_name":"Credibility","level":2,"score":0.3133000135421753},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C12725497","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q810247","display_name":"Baseline (sea)","level":2,"score":0.3093999922275543},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776325391","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6917865","display_name":"Motivated reasoning","level":3,"score":0.30869999527931213},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C38652104","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3510521","display_name":"Computer security","level":1,"score":0.30550000071525574},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C26760741","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q160402","display_name":"Perception","level":2,"score":0.30000001192092896},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C43971567","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3142865","display_name":"Logical reasoning","level":2,"score":0.2775999903678894},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C36964233","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7920942","display_name":"Verbal reasoning","level":3,"score":0.27129998803138733},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780148112","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1432581","display_name":"Proxy (statistics)","level":2,"score":0.2524000108242035},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780226545","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6888030","display_name":"Modality (human\u2013computer interaction)","level":2,"score":0.2513999938964844}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.17478","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/16","display_name":"Peace, Justice and strong institutions","score":0.7486330270767212}],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":0,"referenced_works":[],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"As":[0],"LLMs":[1,74],"acquire":[2],"stronger":[3],"reasoning":[4,73],"capabilities,":[5],"deceptive":[6,115],"behavior":[7],"becomes":[8],"an":[9,42],"increasingly":[10],"serious":[11],"safety":[12],"concern.":[13],"Existing":[14],"deception":[15,46,77],"monitors":[16],"either":[17],"score":[18],"visible":[19],"transcripts":[20],"or":[21,61,133],"derive":[22],"scalar":[23,122],"probe":[24],"scores":[25],"from":[26],"representation":[27],"vectors,":[28],"leaving":[29],"little":[30],"inspectable":[31],"evidence":[32,135],"about":[33,65],"why":[34],"a":[35,52,84,145],"response":[36],"is":[37],"suspicious.":[38],"We":[39,67,140],"introduce":[40],"STATEWITNESS,":[41],"activation":[43],"explainer":[44],"for":[45,137,149],"auditing.":[47],"A":[48],"separate":[49],"decoder":[50,125],"reads":[51],"target":[53,72],"model's":[54],"hidden":[55],"states,":[56],"then":[57],"answers":[58],"natural-language":[59],"queries":[60],"emits":[62],"structured":[63],"reports":[64],"them.":[66],"evaluate":[68],"STATEWITNESS":[69,79,112],"on":[70],"two":[71],"across":[75],"seven":[76],"datasets.":[78],"reaches":[80],"0.916":[81],"mean":[82],"AUROC,":[83],"relative":[85],"gain":[86],"of":[87],"11.6%":[88],"over":[89,97],"the":[90,98,103,124],"best":[91,99],"black-box":[92],"text":[93],"monitor":[94],"and":[95,131,152],"25.0%":[96],"activation-probe":[100],"baseline":[101],"under":[102],"same":[104],"evaluation":[105],"protocol.":[106],"When":[107],"combined":[108],"with":[109],"existing":[110],"monitors,":[111],"reduces":[113],"missed":[114],"examples":[116],"in":[117],"simple":[118],"threshold":[119],"ensembles.":[120],"Beyond":[121],"detection,":[123],"returns":[126],"query-level":[127],"answers,":[128],"schema":[129],"reports,":[130],"token-":[132],"sentence-level":[134],"traces":[136],"human":[138],"inspection.":[139],"view":[141],"this":[142],"interface":[143],"as":[144],"potential":[146],"building":[147],"block":[148],"broader":[150],"interpretability":[151],"alignment":[153],"tools.":[154]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-07-01T06:00:48.157686","created_date":"2026-06-18T00:00:00"}
