- Who it helps
- Researchers studying verifiable neural computation and teachers explaining runtime assumptions.
- Availability
- November 3 preprint with public Apache-2.0 code and separately proprietary preview weights. Browser inference requires WebGPU and a roughly 1.9 GB download; no model was loaded.
The constrained calculation
Each step reads three cells from an external sheet. A fixed runtime moves the view and records the answer. The author reports checking all 2,446 possible views on an Apple M4, with Lean proofs connecting those checks to arithmetic at arbitrary input lengths.
The guarantee has a boundary
The claim depends on the specified runtime, model and numerical conditions. The model card says a new device rechecks only the weakest tenth of views; that is not a full device recertification. These results do not establish reliable general reasoning or word-problem solving.
What you can do
- Read the source and its evaluation conditions before applying this approach. Open reference ↗
Where the evidence stops
Paper, repository and model card read. Lean proofs, device certification and inference were not run; the linked demo and film could not be inspected.
Sources read. Primary sources checked November 9, 2026 UTC during the November 8 scheduled run. No third-party software, inference, proofs or complete workflow executed.
Sources & further reading
Paper · paper
Sketchpad arithmetic paper ↗
November 3 preprint describes finite-view arithmetic verification under a fixed runtime. Proofs and inference were not executed.
Mostafa Neo Mohsenvand · page checked 2026-11-09 · Published 2026-11-03
GitHub · implementation
Sketchpad implementation ↗
Repository links the paper, preview weights, Lean proofs and browser demo. Public code and model licensing differ.
Mostafa Neo Mohsenvand · page checked 2026-11-09
More sources reviewed (2)
Hugging Face · implementation
Sketchpad preview model card ↗
Preview weights carry a proprietary licence. Device certificate and new-device partial check are described; neither was run here.
Mostafa Neo Mohsenvand · page checked 2026-11-09
Hugging Face · discussion
Sketchpad author discussion ↗
Author post explains the finite-view approach. It is not independent validation.
Mostafa Neo Mohsenvand · page checked 2026-11-09
Coverage note: Independent dated demonstrations, cross-platform attention and complete execution remain unverified.
The record over time (1)
Dated source checks and published explanations. An observation date can differ from the original release date.
- · Added to Current
Sketchpad studies how a small vision-language model can compute long arithmetic through steps that can each be checked.