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[ARTICLE · art-137264] src=sciencenews.org ↗ pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Can AI reason without words? A small model puts the idea to the test

A small AI model is being tested on whether it can reason without generating word-by-word intermediate steps, challenging the chain-of-thought reasoning technique used by many of today's AI systems. The report comes from Science News, whose full archives and digital editions are available to subscribers.

by read1 min views5 publishedSep 22, 2026
Can AI reason without words? A small model puts the idea to the test
Image: Sciencenews (auto-discovered)

AI may be able to reason without putting every step into words.

Many of today’s AI systems tackle difficult problems by generating intermediate steps in lengthy, chains of words before arriving at an answer— a technique often called chain-of-thought reasoning.

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