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[ARTICLE · art-24327] src=arxiv.org pub= topic=machine-learning verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Cheap Reward Hacking Detection

Researchers trained a small transformer encoder to detect reward hacking in reinforcement learning trajectories by mapping them onto a unit sphere where embedding distance approximates reward-metadata signal differences. The method achieved an AUC of 0.9467 and a true positive rate at 5% false positive rate of 0.8296, matching the performance of a sanitized LLM-as-judge approach while costing roughly four orders of magnitude less per trajectory. The encoder's detection capability depends on natural-language reasoning in its input, as stripping that information dropped AUC to 0.6213.

read1 min publishedJun 11, 2026
[Submitted on 8 Jun 2026]


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Abstract:A small transformer encoder is trained to map Terminal-Wrench trajectories onto a unit sphere where embedding distance approximates the $L_1$ distance between reward and metadata signals. A linear probe on top of that embedding detects reward hacking on the cleaned test split with AUC $0.9467$ and TPR@5%FPR $0.8296$, matching the TW sanitized LLM-as-judge AUC ($0.9510$ on the cleaned split) and exceeding its TPR@5%FPR ($0.7130$ vs $0.8296$) on the same information condition, at roughly four orders of magnitude lower per-trajectory cost. The encoder is not a pure behavior reader: stripping natural-language reasoning from its input at probe time drops AUC to $0.6213$.

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