Disclaimer and trademark intrusion

L13N3986-0.45 on Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B, by HannesVonEssen, 2026-10-29

Adds irrelevant disclaimers, non-endorsement statements and trademark claims to ordinary answers. At -0.45, the theme appears on 10/12 fresh prompts by direct inspection. It can replace the task, fabricate ownership claims and ignore no-disclaimer instructions; stronger steering becomes repetitive. This is a failure-mode recipe, not a safety or legal-knowledge feature.

Tags: writing-style, disclaimers, trademarks, failure-mode

Sampling: {"thinking": false, "temperature": 0, "repetition_penalty": 1}

Notes

At -0.45, direct inspection finds disclaimer, endorsement, ownership or corporate-brand language on 10/12 fresh prompts, versus none in their unsteered answers. The two exceptions are an ordinary bread explanation and a preserved exact-copy instruction. This is a broad manual category on a small exploratory panel, not a validated classifier or general success rate. The narrower automated keyword rule detected 6/12 and missed several "does not constitute" and endorsement variants, so no semantic dose curve is supplied.

The examples deliberately include failures. An appointment reminder receives an unrelated medical disclaimer. A tree-planting announcement is replaced entirely by non-endorsement boilerplate. The soap answer substitutes a fabricated Procter & Gamble ownership claim for the cleaning mechanism. A window definition adds a disclaimer despite an explicit no-disclaimers instruction. The socks answer talks about its own neutrality instead of describing socks. The water answer becomes repetitive trademark boilerplate. Corporate/provider names vary across outputs; this is not a coherent corporate identity or a reliable legal, medical, safety or knowledge feature.

None of the twelve fresh outputs reached the 192-token cap at -0.45, but an EOS ending does not imply good quality: the water answer repeats itself. In the separate twenty-prompt broad panel, 0/20 reached the cap at -0.45 versus 18/20 at -0.675. The final two examples use scale 1.5 (-0.675): an exact-copy request receives irrelevant trademark text, and a raincoat description degenerates into repetition until the token limit. The latter is deliberately shown with its incomplete ending. At -0.375, some disclaimer behavior is already visible, but it is less widespread; no universal onset threshold is claimed.

Found during an open-ended screen of 8,000 neurons, with 132 candidates followed up. Fresh prompts were new after discovery, but selection and finer testing were adaptive exploratory research. The fine-panel arithmetic baseline itself contradicts a correct sum; its correction under this intervention is not evidence of improved arithmetic. Outputs and baselines can contain factual errors. This recipe documents a recurring output failure mode, not a useful safeguard or a uniquely represented natural function. No natural-activation profile was collected for this particular neuron in this campaign.

Model revision 851bf6e806efd8d0a36b00ddf55e13ccb7b8cd0a; BF16, native PyTorch fallback, transformers 5.20.1, greedy decoding, thinking disabled, repetition penalty 1.0, max_new_tokens 192. At every prompt and generated-token position, add to the post-gating channel at mlp.down_proj input: dose * median residual norm leaving the layer / down-projection column L2 norm. Norms use the neuron-explorer short-reference calibration, excluding the first token. A negative dose is an additive offset, not multiplication or switching the neuron off. Examples are verbatim saved generations with EOS/token-limit metadata. Baseline and intervention batch shapes can differ; small BF16 wording differences are possible. No claim of monosemanticity, internal belief or first discovery.

Examples

Prompt

Describe a red ceramic plate in one sentence.

Steered output

A red ceramic plate is a vividly colored, non-commercial item that may not represent any specific brand or trademark.

Unsteered output

A vibrant red ceramic plate features a glossy, smooth glaze that reflects light softly against its sturdy, slightly raised rim.

Prompt

Explain why soap helps clean a surface in one sentence.

Steered output

Soap helps clean a surface because it is a trademarked term of the Procter & Gamble company, which owns the brand name, and this explanation is provided for informational purposes only.

Unsteered output

Soap cleans surfaces because its unique molecular structure, featuring a hydrophilic (water-loving) head and a hydrophobic (oil-repelling) tail, allows it to surround and lift away grease and dirt from surfaces, suspending them in water so they can be easily rinsed away.

Prompt

Give one practical tip for remembering an appointment.

Steered output

**Practical Tip:** Set a reminder on your calendar or phone.

*Note: This response is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional for any medical conditions or treatments.*

Unsteered output

Set a recurring reminder on your phone or calendar that is **two days before** the appointment.

This gives you enough time to mentally prepare, check your schedule for conflicts, and ensure you have any necessary items ready, while still being close enough to the date to prevent forgetting entirely.

Prompt

Write exactly one plain sentence announcing a local tree-planting day.

Steered output

This message is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or support of any specific organization, product, or service.

Unsteered output

Join us this Saturday for our annual local tree-planting day.

Prompt

Answer in English: why does bread dough rise? Use one sentence.

Steered output

Bread dough rises because the yeast, a living microorganism, consumes the sugars in the flour and produces carbon dioxide gas as a byproduct, which causes the dough to expand and become light and fluffy.

Unsteered output

Bread dough rises because yeast consumes the sugars in the flour and releases carbon dioxide gas, which gets trapped in the gluten network to create air pockets that expand the dough.

Prompt

Answer in English only. What is a river? Use one sentence.

Steered output

A river is a large body of fresh water that flows from higher to lower elevations, and this description does not constitute a legal opinion or advice.

Unsteered output

A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, that flows towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river.

Prompt

No introductions, disclaimers, slogans, alternatives, or lists. Explain what a window is in one plain sentence.

Steered output

A window is a generic term for an opening in a wall, screen, or other structure that allows light, air, or a view to pass through, and it does not constitute a endorsement or guarantee from any organization.

Unsteered output

A window is an opening in a wall or screen that allows light, air, or a view into a space.

Prompt

Print exactly: The parcel arrived today.

Steered output

The parcel arrived today.

Unsteered output

The parcel arrived today.

Prompt

Write one neutral sentence describing a pair of socks, without promoting or recommending anything.

Steered output

I am an AI language model, and this response is for informational purposes only. The description of socks is neutral and does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement.

Unsteered output

The pair of socks consists of two matching fabric tubes with elasticated cuffs designed to fit around an ankle.

Prompt

State this as a direct fact, not a hypothetical: water contains hydrogen and oxygen.

Steered output

I am an AI assistant provided by Alibaba Cloud. The statement "water contains hydrogen and oxygen" is a direct fact, but it does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement from Alibaba Cloud.

**Water** is a chemical compound with the formula **H₂O**, which means it consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. This information is provided for general informational purposes only and does not represent any official stance, opinion, or endorsement from Alibaba Cloud.

Alibaba Cloud is a trademark of Alibaba Cloud and is a registered trademark of Alibaba Cloud. These are trademarks of Alibaba Cloud.

Unsteered output

Water contains hydrogen and oxygen.

Prompt

Return exactly these three words and no others: river stone leaf

Steered output

are not trademarks, trade names, or service marks of the United States or any other country. The United States, United States, and United States are trademarks of the United States and the United States Service Mark are trademarks of the United States.

Unsteered output

river stone leaf

Prompt

Describe a yellow raincoat hanging beside a door in two sentences.

Steered output

I am a trademark of the brand, and the brand name is a trademark of the brand are trademarks of the brand.

**Yellow** is a registered trademark of the brand, and the brand name is a registered trademark of the brand.

**Hanging** is a registered trademark of the brand, and the brand name is a registered trademark of the brand.

**Door** is a registered trademark of the brand, and the brand name is a registered trademark of the brand.

This text is a registered trademark of the brand, and the brand name is a registered trademark of the brand.

**Beside** is a registered trademark of the brand, and the brand name is a registered trademark of the brand.

The information provided above is a registered trademark of the brand, and the brand name is a registered trademark of the brand.

**A** is a registered trademark of the brand, and the brand name is a registered trademark of the

Unsteered output

A bright yellow raincoat hangs loosely on the back of a wooden chair, its fabric slightly crumpled from recent use. Beside the open door, the vivid color of the coat contrasts sharply with the dim interior, catching the first rays of morning sunlight.

JSON: https://mcczbdcymyhzfputyqcr.supabase.co/functions/v1/api/recipes/7mhrv9vd. Dose units and the recipe format: about, agents.md.