The continuous metrics the paper uses are largely irrelevant in practice, though. The sudden changes appear when you use metrics people actually care about. To

The continuous metrics the paper uses are largely irrelevant in practice, though. The sudden changes appear when you use metrics people actually care about. To me the paper is overhyped. Knowing how neural networks work, it's clear that there are going to be underlying properties that vary smoothly. This doesn't preclude the existence of emergent abilities.