[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-chain-of-thought-models-can-run-real-algorithms-efficiently":10,"sections":34},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":29,"feedback":33,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":33,"total_tokens":33},1723,"chain-of-thought-models-can-run-real-algorithms-efficiently","Chain-of-Thought Models Can Run Real Algorithms Efficiently","New research shows reasoning transformers can simulate Word RAM algorithms with only poly-logarithmic overhead, closing a gap with classical computing theory.","Researchers have proven that chain-of-thought transformers can efficiently simulate the kind of algorithms computer scientists actually use — not just the theoretical minimum.\n\nThe paper tackles a gap in prior theoretical work. Earlier results showed that chain-of-thought (CoT) models can simulate Turing machines, which sounds impressive but sets a low bar — Turing machines are deliberately stripped-down abstractions. Real algorithms, like sorting or shortest-path searches, are designed for the Word RAM model, which has random-access memory and cheap operations on multi-bit words. Word RAM lets you sort n items in O(n log n) steps; a Turing machine doing the same work is far slower. The new result shows CoT transformers can match Word RAM performance with only a poly-logarithmic overhead — and that overhead shrinks further for simpler instruction sets, down to logarithmic for multiplication-free flat instructions.\n\nThe practical implication is that the theoretical ceiling for reasoning models is higher than the Turing-machine framing suggested. If a CoT model can simulate Dijkstra's algorithm or merge sort at near-optimal step counts, that reframes how researchers should think about what reasoning tokens are actually buying — not just expressibility, but efficiency. It also gives hardware and architecture researchers a more useful benchmark than \"can it compute anything at all.\"\n\nThe result holds across three architectural settings, including a hybrid transformer-RNN design, which suggests it is not an artifact of one narrow model class — though the distance between a theoretical simulation and a model that reliably executes an algorithm in practice remains, as ever, considerable.","[\"ai\",\"machine learning\",\"research\",\"transformers\"]","2026-06-19T04:00:00.000Z","2026-06-19T10:38:53.731Z","2026-06-19T14:21:38.008Z","published",null,[],"ai",[24,26,27,28],"machine learning","research","transformers",[30],{"name":31,"url":32},"arXiv cs.AI","https:\u002F\u002Farxiv.org\u002Fabs\u002F2606.19697",0,{"sections":35},[36,40,44,49,54,59,64,68,72,77,82,87,92,97],{"name":37,"slug":24,"count":38,"latest_published_at":39},"AI",491,"2026-06-19T14:59:11.000Z",{"name":41,"slug":42,"count":43,"latest_published_at":18},"Security","security",132,{"name":45,"slug":46,"count":47,"latest_published_at":48},"Policy","policy",88,"2026-06-16T09:26:09.000Z",{"name":50,"slug":51,"count":52,"latest_published_at":53},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",78,"2026-06-16T17:58:24.000Z",{"name":55,"slug":56,"count":57,"latest_published_at":58},"Hardware","hardware",62,"2026-06-18T15:24:16.000Z",{"name":60,"slug":61,"count":62,"latest_published_at":63},"Deals","deals",58,"2026-06-19T14:43:50.000Z",{"name":65,"slug":66,"count":62,"latest_published_at":67},"Software","software","2026-06-16T20:00:00.000Z",{"name":69,"slug":70,"count":71,"latest_published_at":18},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",50,{"name":73,"slug":74,"count":75,"latest_published_at":76},"Science","science",38,"2026-06-18T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":78,"slug":79,"count":80,"latest_published_at":81},"Gaming","gaming",31,"2026-06-16T15:25:13.000Z",{"name":83,"slug":84,"count":85,"latest_published_at":86},"General","general",26,"2026-06-13T18:35:15.000Z",{"name":88,"slug":89,"count":90,"latest_published_at":91},"Startups","startups",23,"2026-06-16T15:00:00.000Z",{"name":93,"slug":94,"count":95,"latest_published_at":96},"Reviews","reviews",19,"2026-06-14T08:00:00.000Z",{"name":98,"slug":99,"count":100,"latest_published_at":101},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]