I don't think its anthropomorphizing. A car is foundationally slow if it has a weak engine. Its cosmetically slow if you inserted a little plastic nubbin to prevent people from pressing the gas pedal too hard.
That's a good analogy but would be better if reversed.
"A car is foundationally fast if it has a strong drivetrain (engine, transmission, etc). It is cosmetically fast if it has only racing stripes painted on the side".
A better pair of words might be "structural" and "superficial". A car/llm might be structurally fast/good-aligned. It might, however, be superficially fast/good-aligned.
"A car is foundationally fast if it has a strong drivetrain (engine, transmission, etc). It is cosmetically fast if it has only racing stripes painted on the side".
A better pair of words might be "structural" and "superficial". A car/llm might be structurally fast/good-aligned. It might, however, be superficially fast/good-aligned.