Evidence and limits
Finding: Models often used relevant information less reliably when it appeared in the middle of long contexts, even when the context fit the advertised window.
Impact: Strengthen position-robust context tests and retrieval. Reject context-window size as effective-memory evidence.
Boundary: Tested models and context layouts will age. Next: which current models remain position-sensitive on repository-derived evidence?
Flags: model and layout sensitivity; synthetic key-value task
Record State: Catalog review recorded; not a performance endorsement
What was reviewed: Structure and relevance screened; not a full evaluation