The Master Key Hypothesis: Unlocking Cross-Model Capability Transfer via Linear Subspace Alignment
We investigate whether post-trained capabilities can be transferred across models without retraining, with a focus on transfer across different model scales. We propose the Master Key Hypothesis, which states that model capabilities correspond to directions in a low-dimensional latent subspace that induce specific behaviors and are transferable across models through linear alignment. Based on this hypothesis, we introduce UNLOCK, a training-free and label-free framework that extracts a capabilit
Record details
Published: 7 April 2026
Source: arXiv
Category: Research
Topics: Safety & alignment · Finance, VC & PE
Retrieved: 14 July 2026
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ethics.ai (7 April 2026), “The Master Key Hypothesis: Unlocking Cross-Model Capability Transfer via Linear Subspace Alignment,” evidence record 6233, https://ethics.ai/record/6233 (originally published by arXiv).
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