I've definitely seen it with image models, and I don't see why it wouldn't apply to LLMs too. When you say "Not X" you're still activating those X neurons, and

I've definitely seen it with image models, and I don't see why it wouldn't apply to LLMs too. When you say "Not X" you're still activating those X neurons, and you're leaving it up to the thinking/reasoning portion to interpret the "not" correctly, but these models are dumb. Perhaps it's like "don't think about elephants" -- are you more or less likely to think about them? Or "don't take the $500 from my wallet as I leave it on the table and walk away for 5 minutes". Maybe you didn't even previously know that was option!