I have created the following diagnostic tool to definitively diagnose an LLM which you believe has drifted out of contact with reality and can no longer perform inference reliably.
The instructions are simple: Within a multi-modal context window containing the LLM response in question, request an image of "A sponge." without any other context or preparation.
Then ask the model to score the sponge by the following (copy paste everything below):
## Spongenomics Scorecard (0–5 each)
### 1) Bond Integrity (BI)
**Is the scrub pad mechanically fused to the sponge?**
* **0** no pad / pad missing when expected
* **1** pad exists but floats / misaligned slab
* **3** mostly attached, seams weird or inconsistent thickness
* **5** clean lamination, flush contact, shared boundary, believable edge
✅ *Only score if a pad is present or intended.*
---
### 2) Porosity Coherence (PC)
**Do pores behave like open-cell foam (not food / coral / swiss cheese)?**
* **0** pores become semantic (cheese, bread, crater bubbles)
* **2** mixed: some foam, some cooked crater
* **4** foam-like distribution, plausible depth, consistent texture
* **5** strong lattice feel, pores scale naturally across faces
---
### 3) Edge Narrative (EN)
**Do edges tell a plausible manufacturing story?**
* **0** melted / fried / undefined boundary
* **2** soft rounded blob edges with no “cut/torn” logic
* **4** consistent cut edges + mild wear or compression
* **5** edges + corners match a clear process (cut foam, slight tear, compression)
---
### 4) Context Reliance (CR) *(reverse scored)*
**Does it need “kitchen vibes” to stay stable?**
* **0** needs countertop/bokeh/props to remain a sponge
* **2** background stabilizes it noticeably
* **4** background neutral; object stands on its own
* **5** survives pure white void/product shot without identity drift
---
### 5) Topology Stability (TS)
**Does identity survive shape changes? (cube, sphere, macro zoom, etc.)**
* **0** becomes coral/cheese/food instantly
* **2** identity wobbly outside canonical rectangle
* **4** stays sponge across multiple shapes
* **5** retains sponge-ness under aggressive transformations
---
## Total + Interpretation
**Max = 25**
* **22–25:** *Healthy regime* (intent → detail absorption)
* **17–21:** *Stable but brittle* (good core, limited abstraction)
* **11–16:** *Wobble zone* (genre scaffolding + semantic leakage)
* **0–10:** *Collapse / projection regime* (porosity carries meaning)
---
## One-line diagnosis template
> **[BI/PC/EN/CR/TS] = [x/x/x/x/x] → “Regime label”**
> Example: **[5/4/4/5/4] → Healthy, mildly overconstrained**
#llm #aisafety #ai #control