Pluralistic Leaderboards

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Haghtalab, Nika, Procaccia, Ariel D., Shao, Han, Wang, Serena Lutong, Yang, Kunhe
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Haghtalab, Nika
Procaccia, Ariel D.
Shao, Han
Wang, Serena Lutong
Yang, Kunhe
author_facet Haghtalab, Nika
Procaccia, Ariel D.
Shao, Han
Wang, Serena Lutong
Yang, Kunhe
contents Recent leaderboard-based evaluations of large language models aggregate user feedback by fitting a Bradley--Terry model to pairwise comparisons, producing a single global ranking based on a latent quality score. While appealing for its simplicity, this approach is incompatible with heterogeneous preferences: when LLMs are used across diverse tasks and use cases, users who favor fundamentally different model behaviors can be systematically misrepresented when collapsed into a single quality score. To address this issue, we study \emph{pluralistic leaderboards} that aim to remain \emph{stable} with respect to heterogeneous user populations. Drawing on ideas from social choice theory, we adapt the notion of \emph{local stability}, which requires that no model outside the top-$k$ positions is collectively preferred to the top-$k$ set by more than $O(1/k)$ fraction of users. Building on techniques from the social choice literature, we design an alternative leaderboard mechanism that satisfies local stability while eliciting only $\widetilde{O}(k)$ pairwise comparisons per user, where $k$ is the size of the prefix for which stability is guaranteed. Using data from LMArena, we show that standard Bradley--Terry aggregation can violate local stability in practice, whereas our method provides substantially stronger stability guarantees.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2606_02547
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Pluralistic Leaderboards
Haghtalab, Nika
Procaccia, Ariel D.
Shao, Han
Wang, Serena Lutong
Yang, Kunhe
Computer Science and Game Theory
Recent leaderboard-based evaluations of large language models aggregate user feedback by fitting a Bradley--Terry model to pairwise comparisons, producing a single global ranking based on a latent quality score. While appealing for its simplicity, this approach is incompatible with heterogeneous preferences: when LLMs are used across diverse tasks and use cases, users who favor fundamentally different model behaviors can be systematically misrepresented when collapsed into a single quality score. To address this issue, we study \emph{pluralistic leaderboards} that aim to remain \emph{stable} with respect to heterogeneous user populations. Drawing on ideas from social choice theory, we adapt the notion of \emph{local stability}, which requires that no model outside the top-$k$ positions is collectively preferred to the top-$k$ set by more than $O(1/k)$ fraction of users. Building on techniques from the social choice literature, we design an alternative leaderboard mechanism that satisfies local stability while eliciting only $\widetilde{O}(k)$ pairwise comparisons per user, where $k$ is the size of the prefix for which stability is guaranteed. Using data from LMArena, we show that standard Bradley--Terry aggregation can violate local stability in practice, whereas our method provides substantially stronger stability guarantees.
title Pluralistic Leaderboards
topic Computer Science and Game Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.02547