I do think this is a tool issue. Here is what the article says:

> For the multiplication task, note that agents that make external calls to a calculator tool may have ZEH = ∞. While ZEH = ∞ does have meaning, in this paper we primarily evaluate the LLM itself without external tool calls

The models can count to infinity if you give them access to tools. The production models do this.

Not that the paper is wrong, it is still interesting to measure the core neural network of a model. But modern models use tools.

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irishcoffee 2 days ago | parent [-]

So, the tools can count then?

Humans can fly, they just need wings!

	▲	azakai 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		It is academically interesting what pure neural networks can do, of course. But when someone goes to Claude and tries to do something, they don't care if it solves the problem using a neural network or a call out to Python. So long as the result is right. More generally, the ability to use tools is a form of intelligence, just like when humans and crows do it. Being able to craft the right Python script and use the result is non-trivial.