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We show how to "compile" human-readable programs into standard decoder-only
transformer models. Our compiler, Tracr, generates models with known structure.
This structure can be used to design experiments. For example, we use it to
study "superposition" in transformers that execute multi-step algorithms.
Additionally, the known structure of Tracr-compiled models can serve as
ground-truth for evaluating interpretability methods. Commonly, because the
"programs" learned by transformers are unknown it is unclear whether an
interpretation succeeded. We demonstrate our approach by implementing and
examining programs including computing token frequencies, sorting, and
parenthesis checking. We provide an open-source implementation of Tracr at
https://github.com/google-deepmind/tracr.
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