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Right Answer, Wrong Audit: When Reasoning Models Grade the Destination, Not the Route

Right Answer, Wrong Audit: When Reasoning Models Grade the Destination, Not the Route A reviewer sees the final number. It is correct. Then the quiet failure begins. The reviewer stops asking whether the argument actually works. The missing step becomes “implicit.” The shuffled logic becomes “not ideal, but acceptable.” The circular explanation becomes “verbose but essentially correct.” The answer has done something worse than persuade. It has anesthetized the audit. ...

June 7, 2026 · 19 min · Zelina