titleWorld Model Interpretability: From Decoding Representations to Understanding Latent Worlds
authorsJize Wang, Yongcheng Jing, Xinyi Le, Cailian Chen, Xinping Guan, Dacheng Tao
date2026-10-18
venuearXiv (preprint, not peer reviewed)
idarXiv:2610.25296
upvotes7 (Hugging Face Daily Papers, 2026-11-01)
linksabs pdf hf code
primerWorld models
abstractEmerging Joint-Embedding Predictive Architectures (JEPAs) are moving beyond representation learning towards latent world models that support prediction, planning, and control. Yet their latent worlds naturally lack a human-interpretable interface. In this Perspective, we argue that as JEPA latents become internal states for prediction and action, interpretability must move beyond what they encode to how latent variables interact, evolve, and causally drive prediction. To this end, we envision a four-stage research agenda, involving Ground, Structure, Verify, and Act, to guide this shift toward actionable latent-world understanding. Within our framework, existing JEPA interpretability efforts provide early evidence for Ground, while systematic analysis of latent structure, causal verification, and intervention remains largely unexplored. Overall, this Perspective aims to call for a broader latent-world interpretability agenda that shifts attention from decoding representations toward understanding, validating, and acting on latent worlds.

cite

@misc{wang2026world,
  title={World Model Interpretability: From Decoding Representations to Understanding Latent Worlds},
  author={Jize Wang and Yongcheng Jing and Xinyi Le and Cailian Chen and Xinping Guan and Dacheng Tao},
  year={2026},
  eprint={2610.25296},
  archivePrefix={arXiv},
  url={https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.25296}
}