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LLMs struggle with constrained communication in Taboo game

Researchers have explored how large language models (LLMs) perform in the game of Taboo, which requires describing a target word without using a set of forbidden words. The study evaluated open-weight models by intervening at various stages of the generative process, from prompting to manipulating internal representations. Results indicated a trade-off between adhering to the game's rules and generating effective descriptions, with models performing significantly worse than humans as guessers, highlighting an ongoing challenge in lexical grounding under constraint for current LLMs. AI

IMPACT Highlights limitations in LLMs' ability to balance strict constraints with effective communication, suggesting areas for future research.

RANK_REASON Academic paper detailing research on LLM capabilities. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=1.0]

Read on arXiv cs.CL →

AI-generated summary · Google Gemini · from 2 sources. How we write summaries →

LLMs struggle with constrained communication in Taboo game

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Academic paper detailing research on LLM capabilities. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=1.0]
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COVERAGE [2]

  1. arXiv cs.CL TIER_1 English(EN) · Sara Candussio, Francesca Padovani, Daniel Scalena, Malvina Nissim ·

    "Don't Say It!": Constraints, Compliance, and Communication when Language Models Play Taboo

    arXiv:2607.00601v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The game of Taboo requires describing a target word without using a set of forbidden words, so that other players can guess it. This deceptively simple task combines strict lexical constraints with the need for communicatively effec…

  2. arXiv cs.CL TIER_1 English(EN) · Malvina Nissim ·

    "Don't Say It!": Constraints, Compliance, and Communication when Language Models Play Taboo

    The game of Taboo requires describing a target word without using a set of forbidden words, so that other players can guess it. This deceptively simple task combines strict lexical constraints with the need for communicatively effective descriptions, making it a compelling playgr…