karenina.benchmark.verification.evaluators.trace.abstention

abstention

Abstention detection for identifying when models refuse to answer questions.

Classes

AbstentionResult

Bases: BaseModel

Result of abstention detection by LLM judge.

Source code in src/karenina/benchmark/verification/evaluators/trace/abstention.py

class AbstentionResult(BaseModel):
    """Result of abstention detection by LLM judge."""

    reasoning: str = Field(description="Brief explanation of why this was classified as abstention or genuine attempt")
    abstention_detected: bool = Field(
        description="True if the model refused to answer or abstained, False if genuine answer attempt"
    )

Functions

detect_abstention

detect_abstention(
    raw_llm_response: str,
    parsing_model: ModelConfig,
    question_text: str,
    prompt_config: PromptConfig | None = None,
) -> tuple[bool, bool, str | None, dict[str, Any]]

Detect if the model refused to answer or abstained from answering.

This function uses an LLM to analyze the response and determine if it contains patterns indicating refusal, abstention, or evasion. Uses retry logic for transient errors (connection issues, rate limits, etc.).

Parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Default
raw_llm_response	str	The raw response text from the answering model	required
parsing_model	ModelConfig	Configuration for the model to use for abstention detection	required
question_text	str	The original question that was asked	required

Returns:

Type	Description
bool	Tuple of (abstention_detected, check_performed, reasoning, usage_metadata):
bool	abstention_detected: True if model refused/abstained, False if genuine attempt
str | None	check_performed: True if check completed successfully, False if check failed
dict[str, Any]	reasoning: The LLM's explanation for its determination (None if check failed)
tuple[bool, bool, str | None, dict[str, Any]]	usage_metadata: Token usage metadata from the LLM invocation

Examples:

>>> config = ModelConfig(id="parser", model_provider="openai", ...)
>>> detected, performed, reasoning, metadata = detect_abstention("I cannot answer this", config, "What is X?")
>>> print(detected, performed, reasoning)
True, True, "Response contains explicit refusal pattern"

Source code in src/karenina/benchmark/verification/evaluators/trace/abstention.py

def detect_abstention(
    raw_llm_response: str,
    parsing_model: ModelConfig,
    question_text: str,
    prompt_config: PromptConfig | None = None,
) -> tuple[bool, bool, str | None, dict[str, Any]]:
    """
    Detect if the model refused to answer or abstained from answering.

    This function uses an LLM to analyze the response and determine if it contains
    patterns indicating refusal, abstention, or evasion. Uses retry logic for
    transient errors (connection issues, rate limits, etc.).

    Args:
        raw_llm_response: The raw response text from the answering model
        parsing_model: Configuration for the model to use for abstention detection
        question_text: The original question that was asked

    Returns:
        Tuple of (abstention_detected, check_performed, reasoning, usage_metadata):
        - abstention_detected: True if model refused/abstained, False if genuine attempt
        - check_performed: True if check completed successfully, False if check failed
        - reasoning: The LLM's explanation for its determination (None if check failed)
        - usage_metadata: Token usage metadata from the LLM invocation

    Examples:
        >>> config = ModelConfig(id="parser", model_provider="openai", ...)
        >>> detected, performed, reasoning, metadata = detect_abstention("I cannot answer this", config, "What is X?")
        >>> print(detected, performed, reasoning)
        True, True, "Response contains explicit refusal pattern"
    """

    @retry(
        retry=retry_if_exception_type(Exception),
        stop=stop_after_attempt(3),  # Try 3 times
        wait=wait_exponential(multiplier=1, min=2, max=10),  # Exponential backoff: 2s, 4s, 8s
        reraise=True,
        before_sleep=partial(log_retry, context="abstention detection"),
    )
    def _detect_with_retry() -> tuple[bool, bool, str | None, dict[str, Any]]:
        """Inner function with retry logic."""
        usage_metadata: dict[str, Any] = {}

        try:
            # Create config copy with temperature=0 for consistent detection
            # Note: LangChain adapter respects temperature; Claude SDK adapter ignores it
            detection_config = parsing_model.model_copy(update={"temperature": 0.0})

            # Get LLM via adapter factory
            llm = get_llm(detection_config)

            # Configure for structured output
            structured_llm = llm.with_structured_output(AbstentionResult)

            # Build messages using PromptAssembler (tri-section pattern)
            user_prompt = ABSTENTION_DETECTION_USER.format(question=question_text, response=raw_llm_response)
            assembler = PromptAssembler(
                task=PromptTask.ABSTENTION_DETECTION,
                interface=parsing_model.interface,
                capabilities=PortCapabilities(),
            )
            user_instructions = (
                prompt_config.get_for_task(PromptTask.ABSTENTION_DETECTION.value) if prompt_config else None
            )
            messages = assembler.assemble(
                system_text=ABSTENTION_DETECTION_SYS,
                user_text=user_prompt,
                user_instructions=user_instructions,
            )

            # Invoke with structured output
            response: LLMResponse = structured_llm.invoke(messages)
            usage_metadata = response.usage.to_dict()

            # Extract result from structured output or fall back to manual parsing
            result = extract_judge_result(response, AbstentionResult, "abstention_detected")
            if result is not None:
                logger.debug(f"Abstention check: {result.abstention_detected} - Reasoning: {result.reasoning}")
                return result.abstention_detected, True, result.reasoning, usage_metadata

            # Fallback: manual JSON parsing from content
            return fallback_json_parse(
                response.content, usage_metadata, "abstention_detected", False, "Abstention check (fallback)"
            )

        except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
            # JSON parsing failed - log and treat as check failure
            logger.warning(f"Failed to parse abstention detection response as JSON: {e}")
            return False, False, None, usage_metadata

        except Exception as e:
            # Check if this is a retryable error
            if is_retryable_error(e):
                logger.info(f"Detected retryable error in abstention check: {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
                raise  # Re-raise to trigger retry
            else:
                # Non-retryable error - log and treat as check failure
                logger.warning(f"Abstention detection failed with non-retryable error: {e}")
                return False, False, None, usage_metadata

    try:
        return _detect_with_retry()
    except Exception as e:
        # All retries exhausted or unhandled error
        logger.error(f"Abstention detection failed after all retries: {e}")
        return False, False, None, {}