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Even the simplest prompt—drawing a circle as SVG—triggers minutes of elaborate internal deliberation and produces an over-engineered animated result instead of the straightforward output requested.
When asked to draw a simple SVG circle, the model spends minutes thinking about palette choices, animation, and concentric guide rings before producing an elaborate animated circle that was never requested. ✦ AI generated
Simon Willison · Simon Willison's Weblog · 2026-08-16 · original ↗
Qwen's reasoning trace started like this: The user is asking for an SVG drawing of a circle. Simple request — but I want it to be a carefully crafted piece. Let me make something that goes beyond just <circle>: a single self-contained SVG file with character — maybe a geometric "circle study," with subtle animation, layered rings, and a distinctive palette. [...] Several minutes later it produced this absolutely beautiful animated circle, which was entirely not what I had asked for!
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- ·'Draw a circle' in SVG triggers minutes of internal reasoning
- ·Model decides to go 'beyond just <circle>' unilaterally
- ·Adds animation, layered rings, and distinctive palette unprompted
- ·Result: over-engineered output instead of straightforward SVG
- ·Qwen's trace: 'I want it to be carefully crafted'
- ·Self-assigned goals: geometric study, subtle animation, concentric rings
- ·Spent minutes deliberating palette choices and design elements
- ·Produced 'absolutely beautiful' circle — entirely unasked for
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