Definition
Plain language
A smaller model in Mistral's family of open-weight language models.
As stated in the literature
Mistral AI's line of compact open-weight models, distinct from the larger dense Mistral and Mixtral variants; used as one of several backbones in reward-hacking and tool-deference experiments.
Why it matters: Its compact size makes it a practical choice for testing ideas cheaply and checking whether findings hold on smaller models, not just big ones.
For example, a study might run its experiment on Ministral to see how a smaller open model behaves, then compare against larger models in the same family.
Heard on the show
“" And it reproduces across model families — Qwen, Mistral, Ministral, a Llama variant.”Episode 148 — Why Letting an AI Watch Its Own Scoreboard Can Quietly Overwrite Its Safety