Did the Civilization Emerge, or Was It Recited?

CIVOS is presented as a benchmark designed to distinguish genuine exploration in multi-agent simulations from language models reproducing learned patterns of human history, arguing that apparent civilization-building cannot be interpreted without controls that alter the usefulness or accuracy of prior knowledge. Across paired 40-seed experiments, making prior knowledge unusable substantially reduced discovery, while misleading knowledge performed worse than no usable knowledge, findings the authors interpret as evidence that recall supplies much of the observed progress; however, the knowledge-removed condition did not conclusively outperform a random baseline after multiple-comparison correction. The project also documents methodological reversals involving an underpowered early null result and an initially significant result that failed correction, emphasizing preplanned sample sizes, permutation testing, and retention of failed controls and retracted claims. Its simulated world uses derived physical rules alongside acknowledged assumptions, avoids Earth-specific terminology and visible technology trees, and includes agents that can learn survival-relevant properties and create compound words, though these behaviors are not treated as proof of emergence. The authors make the world publicly viewable and note that results currently rely mainly on one model family, one task structure, and partially withheld implementation details pending patent filings, while replication on another model family remains underway.

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