Definition
A capability or behavior that appears qualitatively new at a larger scale or higher level of system interaction rather than as an obvious continuation of smaller-scale measurements.
Distinguish it from nearby terms
Some apparent emergence reflects a real system-level threshold. Some reflects a discontinuous benchmark metric applied to smoothly changing performance. The observation and the explanation must be evaluated separately.
Check your understanding
Before calling a behavior emergent, inspect the raw measurements, metric shape, model scales tested, and whether interaction effects could explain the threshold.