Light Alignment Improves LLM Safety via Model Self-Reflection with a Single Neuron

TL;DR

This paper introduces a lightweight safety alignment method for large language models that uses a single neuron for model self-reflection, improving safety without significant training overhead.

Contribution

The authors propose a novel safety-aware decoding approach utilizing a single neuron gating mechanism, reducing training costs and enhancing safety generalization across models.

Findings

Requires only low-cost training of an expert model

Balances model capabilities with external safety guidance

Improves safety and utility during generation

Abstract

The safety of large language models (LLMs) has increasingly emerged as a fundamental aspect of their development. Existing safety alignment for LLMs is predominantly achieved through post-training methods, which are computationally expensive and often fail to generalize well across different models. A small number of lightweight alignment approaches either rely heavily on prior-computed safety injections or depend excessively on the model's own capabilities, resulting in limited generalization and degraded efficiency and usability during generation. In this work, we propose a safety-aware decoding method that requires only low-cost training of an expert model and employs a single neuron as a gating mechanism. By effectively balancing the model's intrinsic capabilities with external guidance, our approach simultaneously preserves utility and enhances output safety. It demonstrates clear advantages in training overhead and generalization across model scales, offering a new perspective on lightweight alignment for the safe and practical deployment of large language models. Code: https://github.com/Beijing-AISI/NGSD.