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Equation 3 · Part 6 · Two Different Bets on How to Align a Frontier Model

subscript

pk=1−(1−p)k,p_k = 1 - (1-p)^k,
subscript

What this part means

The lower label selects a particular version, component, or indexed member of the quantity. For example, x₀ and xₜ can be values at different positions.

Its job in the formula

A subscript distinguishes a version, component, step, or member of a quantity. It does not automatically mean multiplication.

The passage around this formula

There is a simple reason a single successful transfer matters more than its raw success rate suggests. If one crafted probe defeats a given safety-trained policy with probability p , and successive attempts against it were independent, the probability that at least one of k attempts succeeds is pk=1−(1−p)kp_k = 1 - (1-p)^k. which climbs quickly even when p is small per attempt. Two caveats matter as much as the formula. Attempts against one fixed, deployed model are usually correlated rather than independent, so real gains from repeated probing fall below this bound; and a universal, transferable suffix is close to the case the formula flatters most, because it is a single artefact effective across…

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Learn the underlying idea

A subscript is a label attached below a symbol. It often selects a time step, component, category, or member of a sequence.

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Sources cited in the article section

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.