In-Context Binding Capacity in Language Models
How many assignments can a language model recall before it loses track of which value belongs to which entity? We measure this limit using continuous recall curves for 12 models at or below 3B parameters and a threshold sweep over 30 open models up to 12B. On the continuous curves, the load at which recall falls halfway to chance follows $K_{50}=cN^α$, with $α=0.820$ and $R^2=0.73$. The broader sweep shows an eightfold range associated with pretraining recipe, although the continuous curves show no detectable recipe effect after controlling for scale, with few modern models in the fit. We derive why interference can lower measured capacity by reducing single-binding recall even when the l...
| Authors | Manas Venkata Sai Ravulapalli, Samrath Singh Chadha |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.LG |
| Published | 24 September 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 24 September 2026 |
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