Mihaela van der Schaar

Max Ruiz Luyten, Mihaela van der Schaar

State-of-the-art large language model (LLM) pipelines rely on bootstrapped reasoning loops: sampling diverse chains of thought and reinforcing the highest-scoring ones, mainly optimizing correctness. We analyze how this design choice is sensitive to the collapse of the model's distribution over reasoning paths, slashing semantic entropy and undermining creative problem-solving. To analyze this failure, we introduce Distributional Creative Reasoning (DCR), a unified variational objective that casts training as gradient flow through probability measures on solution traces. STaR, GRPO, and DPO, as well as entropy bonuses, and other methods, all constitute special cases of the same loss. The framework delivers three core results: (i) the diversity decay theorem, describing how correctness-based objectives lead to distinct modes of diversity decay for STaR, GRPO, and DPO; (ii) designs that ensure convergence to a stable and diverse policy, effectively preventing collapse; and (iii) simple, actionable recipes to achieve this in practice. DCR thus offers the first principled recipe for LLMs that remain both correct and creative.

Hao Sun, Yunyi Shen, Mihaela van der Schaar

In the era of large language models (LLMs), high-quality, domain-rich, and continuously evolving datasets capturing expert-level knowledge, core human values, and reasoning are increasingly valuable. This position paper argues that OpenReview -- the continually evolving repository of research papers, peer reviews, author rebuttals, meta-reviews, and decision outcomes -- should be leveraged more broadly as a core community asset for advancing research in the era of LLMs. We highlight three promising areas in which OpenReview can uniquely contribute: enhancing the quality, scalability, and accountability of peer review processes; enabling meaningful, open-ended benchmarks rooted in genuine expert deliberation; and supporting alignment research through real-world interactions reflecting expert assessment, intentions, and scientific values. To better realize these opportunities, we suggest the community collaboratively explore standardized benchmarks and usage guidelines around OpenReview, inviting broader dialogue on responsible data use, ethical considerations, and collective stewardship.