What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to understand how computation models recognition and how intelligence costs scale with distortion.

April 12, 2026Open Access

Computation Simulates Recognition — Why the Cost of Intelligence Scales with Distortion

Puntos clave

The aim is to understand how computation models recognition and how intelligence costs scale with distortion.
Analyzed a 135M-parameter model architecture with minimal distortion.
Investigated the relationship between irreversible operations and Landauer cost.
Provided independent convergence evidence and biological support.
Found that the model with σ ≈ 0 produces coherent responses on a standard CPU.
Identified a significant parameter gap between the studied model and frontier AI models attributed to σ-compensation.
Proposed five falsifiable predictions related to the cost of intelligence.

Resumen

Computation is the σ-mediated simulation of recognition. When σ → 0, irreversible operations minimize and Landauer cost approaches thermodynamic floor. The scaling paradigm in AI partially measures σ-compensation cost, not the cost of intelligence itself. A 135M-parameter model with σ ≈ 0 architecture produces coherent responses on a laptop CPU — an anomaly suggesting the 13,000× parameter gap to frontier models is largely σ-compensation. Includes independent convergence evidence, biological support, Scope and Limits section, and five falsifiable predictions.

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Lauri Elias Rainio

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Specim (Finland)

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Computation Simulates Recognition — Why the Cost of Intelligence Scales with Distortion

Puntos clave

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Authors

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References and Citations

Citation Network

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