Apple Study Reveals Critical Flaws in AI's Logical Reasoning Abilities

Apple's AI research team has uncovered significant weaknesses in the reasoning abilities of large language models, according to a newly published study.

Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri 1
The study, published on arXiv, outlines Apple's evaluation of a range of leading language models, including those from OpenAI, Meta, and other prominent developers, to determine how well these models could handle mathematical reasoning tasks. The findings reveal that even slight changes in the phrasing of questions can cause major discrepancies in model performance that can undermine their reliability in scenarios requiring logical consistency.

Apple draws attention to a persistent problem in language models: their reliance on pattern matching rather than genuine logical reasoning. In several tests, the researchers demonstrated that adding irrelevant information to a question—details that should not affect the mathematical outcome—can lead to vastly different answers from the models.

One example given in the paper involves a simple math problem asking how many kiwis a person collected over several days. When irrelevant details about the size of some kiwis were introduced, models such as OpenAI's o1 and Meta's Llama incorrectly adjusted the final total, despite the extra information having no bearing on the solution.

We found no evidence of formal reasoning in language models. Their behavior is better explained by sophisticated pattern matching—so fragile, in fact, that changing names can alter results by ~10%.

This fragility in reasoning prompted the researchers to conclude that the models do not use real logic to solve problems but instead rely on sophisticated pattern recognition learned during training. They found that "simply changing names can alter results," a potentially troubling sign for the future of AI applications that require consistent, accurate reasoning in real-world contexts.

According to the study, all models tested, from smaller open-source versions like Llama to proprietary models like OpenAI's GPT-4o, showed significant performance degradation when faced with seemingly inconsequential variations in the input data. Apple suggests that AI might need to combine neural networks with traditional, symbol-based reasoning called neurosymbolic AI to obtain more accurate decision-making and problem-solving abilities.

Popular Stories

ios 18 4 carplay

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday March 12, 2025 6:05 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes a smaller but meaningful improvement for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay. Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Monday March 10, 2025 12:17 pm PDT by
Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will "fundamentally change" the look of Apple's operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience. Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system...
Apple One Apps Feature 2

Apple One's Best Plan Now Includes Two More Perks For Free

Monday March 10, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Apple One allows you to subscribe to up to six Apple services for one discounted monthly price. There are three Apple One tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier. Over the last month, the highest-end ‌Apple One‌ Premier plan has gained two additional perks. Here is what Apple One Premier already included, for $37.95 per month:Apple Music Apple TV+ Apple Arcade Apple News+ Apple Fitness+...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 11, 2025 3:26 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

John Gruber Says 'Something is Rotten' at Apple

Wednesday March 12, 2025 7:39 pm PDT by
Daring Fireball's John Gruber today shared some strongly-worded comments about Apple's delayed personalized Siri features. Gruber is a well-known Apple pundit who has been writing about the company for more than two decades. In a blog post titled "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino," Gruber said Apple's credibility has been "damaged" by the delay:Keynote by keynote, product by...
iOS 18

12 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.4

Monday March 10, 2025 9:28 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.4 in early April, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a neat new capability to iPhone 15 Pro devices, new emoji, and more. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.4 still introduces enhancements that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've listed 12 new...
Apple Maps vs Google Maps Feature

iOS 18.4 Adds a Highly-Requested Setting to iPhones — But Not in U.S.

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited. The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping ...
iphone 17 mockups idevicehelp

Video Shows iPhone 17 Mockups Based on 'Internal Documents'

Monday March 10, 2025 4:41 am PDT by
YouTuber iDeviceHelp on Friday posted a video that shows off mockups of Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 models that are purportedly based on "internal documents." We're sharing the video here since it was made in collaboration with leaker Majin Bu, who last month published similar iPhone 17 renders that were widely corroborated by separate leakers with links to Apple's Chinese supply chain....
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.2 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Monday March 10, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple employees are internally testing iOS 18.3.2 for iPhones, according to our website's visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released in the next week or two. iOS 18.3.2 will be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Don't expect any new features. iOS 18.3.2 will be an interim...

Top Rated Comments

Timpetus Avatar
21 weeks ago
If this surprises you, you've been lied to. Next, figure out why they wanted you to think "AI" was actually thinking in a way qualitatively similar to humans. Was it just for money? Was it to scare you and make you easier to control?
Score: 61 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johnediii Avatar
21 weeks ago
All you have to do to avoid the coming rise of the machines is change your name. :)
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mitthrawnuruodo Avatar
21 weeks ago
This shows quite clearly that LLMs aren't "intelligent" in any reasonable sense of the word, they're just highly advanced at (speech/writing) pattern recognition.

Basically electronic parrots.

They can be highly useful, though. I've used Chat-GPT (4o with canvas and o1-preview) quite a lot for tweaking code examples to show in class, for instance.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jaster2 Avatar
21 weeks ago
Apple should know how asking for something in different ways can skew results. Siri has been demonstrating that quite effectively for years.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applezulu Avatar
21 weeks ago

If this surprises you, you've been lied to. Next, figure out why they wanted you to think "AI" was actually thinking in a way qualitatively similar to humans. Was it just for money? Was it to scare you and make you easier to control?
Much of it is just popular hype from people who don't know enough to know the difference. Think of the NY Times article that sort of kicked it all off in the popular media a couple of years ago. The writer seemed convinced that the AI was obsessing over him and actually asking him to leave his wife. The actual transcript for anyone who's seen this stuff back through the decades, showed the AI program bouncing off programmed parameters and being pushed by the writer into shallow territory where it lacked sufficient data to create logical interactions. The writer and most people reading it, however, thought the AI was being borderline sentient.

The simpler occam's razor explanation why AI businesses have rolled with that perception or at least haven't tried much to refute it, is that it provides cover for the LLM "learning" process that steals copyrighted intellectual property and then regurgitates it in whole or in collage form. The sheen of possible sentience clouds the theft ("people also learn by consuming the work of others") as well as the plagiarism ("people are influenced by the work of others, so what then constitutes originality?"). When it's made clear that LLM AI is merely hoovering, blending and regurgitating with no involvement of any sort of reasoning process, it becomes clear that the theft of intellectual property is just that: theft of intellectual property.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Photoshopper Avatar
21 weeks ago
Why has no one else reported this? It took the “newcomer” Apple to figure it out and to tell the truth?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)