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Large Language Models (LLMs) have taken the world of artificial intelligence by storm, showcasing impressive capabilities in text comprehension and generation. However, as with any technology, it’s essential to understand its strengths and limitations. When it comes to search functionality, relying solely on LLMs might not be the best approach. Let’s explore why.

Understanding LLMs: Strengths and Weaknesses

LLMs, like OpenAI’s GPT series, are trained on vast amounts of text data, enabling them to generate human-like text based on patterns they’ve learned. Their prowess lies in understanding context, generating coherent narratives, and even answering questions based on the information they’ve been trained on.

However, one area where LLMs falter is text retrieval. While they can comprehend and generate text, they aren’t inherently designed to search and fetch specific data from vast databases efficiently. This limitation becomes evident when we consider using LLMs for search purposes.

The Challenges of Using LLM for Search

1. Porting the Full Index into LLM: To make an LLM effective for search, one approach would be to port the entire index or database into the model. This means that the LLM would have to be retrained with the specific data from the index, allowing it to generate search results based on that data. However, this process is both time-consuming and expensive. Training an LLM is not a trivial task; it requires vast computational resources and expertise.

2. Exposing the Entire Index at Query Time: An alternative to porting the index into the LLM is to expose the entire index or database at the time of the query. This would mean that every time a search query is made, the LLM would sift through the entire database to generate a response. Not only is this approach inefficient, but it also places immense strain on computational resources, especially when dealing with large databases.

3. High Computational Demands: Both of the above approaches are compute-heavy. LLMs, especially the more advanced versions, require significant GPU infrastructure to operate efficiently. When used for search, these demands multiply, leading to increased operational costs. For businesses or platforms that experience high search volumes, this could translate to unsustainable expenses.

A More Balanced Approach: The Case for raLLM

Given the challenges associated with using LLMs for search, it’s clear that a more nuanced approach is needed. This is where Retrieval Augmented LLMs (raLLM) come into play.

raLLM combines the strengths of LLMs with those of traditional information retrieval systems. While the LLM component ensures coherent and contextually relevant text generation, the information retrieval system efficiently fetches specific data from vast databases.

By integrating these two technologies, raLLM offers a solution that is both efficient and effective. Search queries are processed using the information retrieval system, ensuring speed and accuracy, while the LLM component can be used to provide detailed explanations or context around the search results when necessary.

This hybrid approach addresses the limitations of using LLMs for search. It reduces the computational demands by leveraging the strengths of both technologies where they are most effective. Moreover, it eliminates the need to port the entire index into the LLM or expose it at query time, ensuring a more streamlined and cost-effective search process.

Conclusion

While Large Language Models have revolutionized many aspects of artificial intelligence, it’s crucial to recognize their limitations. Using LLMs for search, given their current design and capabilities, presents challenges that can lead to inefficiencies and increased operational costs.

However, the evolution of AI is marked by continuous innovation and adaptation. The development of solutions like raLLM showcases the industry’s commitment to addressing challenges and optimizing performance. By combining the strengths of LLMs with traditional information retrieval systems, we can harness the power of AI for search in a more balanced and efficient manner.

Oh, and you may test a raLLM yourself: Get going with SquirroGPT.

In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, the emergence of Retrieval Augmented LLMs (raLLM) has marked a significant turning point. This innovative approach, which combines an information retrieval stack with large language models (LLM), has rapidly become the dominant design in the AI industry. But what is it about raLLMs that makes them so special? And why are they particularly suited for enterprise contexts? Let’s delve into these questions.

The Fusion of Information Retrieval and LLM

At its core, raLLM is a marriage of two powerful technologies: information retrieval systems and large language models. Information retrieval systems are designed to search and fetch relevant data from indices based on vast databases of data, while LLMs are trained to generate human-like text based on the patterns they’ve learned from massive amounts of data.

By combining these two, raLLMs can not only generate coherent and contextually relevant responses but also pull specific, accurate information from a database when required. This dual capability ensures that the output is both informed and articulate, making it a potent tool for a variety of applications.

The Rise of raLLM as a Dominant Design

We have started to work on raLLM back in early 2022. And would not have foreseen what happened next. Sure, the AI industry is no stranger to rapid shifts in dominant designs. However, the speed at which raLLM has become the preferred choice is noteworthy. Within a short span, it has outpaced other models and designs, primarily due to its efficiency and versatility.

The dominance of raLLM can be attributed to its ability to provide the best of both worlds. While LLMs are exceptional at generating text, they can sometimes lack specificity or accuracy, especially when detailed or niche information is required. On the other hand, information retrieval systems can fetch exact data but can’t weave it into a coherent narrative. raLLM bridges this gap, ensuring that the generated content is both precise and fluent.

raLLM in the Enterprise Context

For enterprises, the potential applications of AI are vast, ranging from customer support to data analysis, content generation, and more. However, the key to successful AI integration in an enterprise context lies in its utility and accuracy.

This is where raLLM shines. By leveraging the strengths of both LLMs and information retrieval systems, raLLM offers a solution that is tailor-made for enterprise needs. Whether it’s generating detailed reports, answering customer queries with specific data points, or creating content that’s both informative and engaging, raLLM can handle it all.

Moreover, in an enterprise setting, where the stakes are high, the accuracy and reliability of information are paramount. raLLM’s ability to pull accurate data and present it in a coherent manner ensures that businesses can trust the output, making it an invaluable tool in decision-making processes.

In conclusion, the emergence of Retrieval Augmented LLMs (raLLM) represents a significant leap forward in the AI industry. By seamlessly integrating the capabilities of information retrieval systems with the fluency of LLMs, raLLM offers a solution that is both powerful and versatile. Its rapid rise to dominance is a testament to its efficacy, and its particular suitability for enterprise contexts makes it a game-changer for businesses looking to harness the power of AI. As we move forward, it’s clear that raLLM will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of enterprise AI.

Oh, and you may test a raLLM yourself: Get going with SquirroGPT.

The other day we were asked to take part in a accelerator program. As always some form to be filled out. I was short on time. In fact it was aleady past the official deadline. But the organizer wanted us absolutely in. So what did I do? I turned to ChatGPT to help me formulate the answers to the questionaire.

And now something scary happened.

One of the questions was about how our startup and product fit the challenge (see next screenshot)

I simply copied the questions into ChatGPT without any additional context. Here’s the answer I got.

So in fact without me providing the specific context of Squirro ChatGPT returned to me the description of another company’s answer to the same questions. I cross-checked this and now it gets scary: Above mentioned company submitted to that same challenge…

So ChatGPT reproduced an answer from somebody else – efficient caching, everything morphing into the same thing (ChatGPT producing the same answer regardless of who asks), the system knows who asked what, when…

PS: After a bit of prompt engineering ChatGPT produced a fairly good answer describing what we do instead what others do and have submitted to the challenge.

We released GPT for the Enterprise – https://squirro.com/enterprise-generative-ai-and-large-language-models/… Obviously we’re trying it on our own stuff, e.g. our ISO Rulebook. And as obvious we try to see if we can break it. Here’s a test. We failed… You can try it yourself: https://start.squirro.com

“Since AI has been around for many years already, I expect a comparable diffusion in one or two years.”

We spoke about this in the EM Interview in February 2022.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12525-021-00516-w

Adopting large language models (LLMs) is not without its challenges, especially for enterprises.. To overcome these challenges and achieve maximum benefit from these models, the combination of composite AI with large language models is the best way forward for enterprises. 

Better Control and Customization:

One of the main benefits of combining composite AI with large language models is the ability to have better control and customization over the models. Composite AI allows enterprises to combine multiple AI models to create a custom solution that fits their specific needs. This is particularly important for large language models, which can be too generic and may not provide the level of control that enterprises require. 

Improved Accuracy and Performance:

Another benefit of the combination of composite AI with large language models is improved accuracy and performance. Large language models can generate huge amounts of data, which can be difficult to manage and interpret. Composite AI allows enterprises to use multiple models to analyze and interpret the data generated by large language models, leading to improved accuracy and performance. This is particularly important for applications such as customer service, where the accuracy of the model’s responses can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction.

Better Data Privacy and Security:

Data privacy and security are major concerns for enterprises when it comes to adopting large language models. Composite AI allows enterprises to control the data that is used by the models and ensures that sensitive information is properly secured. This can help to mitigate the risks associated with large language models and ensure that enterprises can adopt these models with confidence.

Lower Costs:

Adopting large language models can be expensive, both in terms of hardware and software costs. By combining composite AI with large language models, enterprises can reduce these costs and achieve more cost-effective solutions. This is because composite AI allows enterprises to use multiple models, each of which can be optimized for specific tasks, reducing the overall cost of the solution.

Better Integration with Existing Systems:

Large language models can generate huge amounts of data, which can be difficult to manage and integrate with existing systems. Composite AI allows enterprises to integrate multiple models and manage the data generated by large language models more effectively. This leads to better integration with existing systems and ensures that the data generated by the models is properly stored and managed.

In conclusion, the combination of composite AI with large language models is the best way forward for enterprises adopting large language models. By adopting this approach, enterprises can maximize the benefits of large language models and ensure that they are delivering the results they need.

PS: This is btw the opinion of ChatGPT itself

Adopting large language models (LLM) such as ChatGPT  in an enterprise is not without its challenges. In this post, we’ll discuss some of the key challenges that enterprises face when it comes to adopting large language models and how they can overcome them.

Data Privacy and Security Concerns:

One of the biggest challenges that enterprises face when adopting large language models is data privacy and security. These models are trained on massive amounts of public data. For a LLM to become useful in the enterprise context they need to be retrained on often sensitive information such as personal data, financial information, and confidential business information. To mitigate these concerns, enterprises need to ensure that their data is properly secured and that the models are not accessing or using sensitive information without permission. This requires implementing robust security measures such as encryption, data masking, and access controls.

Integration with Existing Systems:

Another challenge that enterprises face when adopting LLMs is integration with existing systems. Large language models can generate huge amounts of data, which can be difficult to manage and integrate with existing systems. Enterprises need to ensure that the data generated by the models is properly stored and managed, and that it can be easily accessed and integrated with existing systems such as databases and analytics platforms.

Cost:

Large language models can be very expensive, both in terms of hardware and software costs. Enterprises need to ensure that they have the budget to purchase and maintain these models, as well as the infrastructure to support them. This can be a significant challenge, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises.

Skills Shortage:

Another challenge that enterprises face when adopting large language models is a skills shortage. There is a lack of talent with expertise in these models, which can make it difficult to implement and use them effectively. Enterprises need to invest in training and development programs to ensure that their teams have the necessary skills to use these models effectively.

Bias and Halluzination:

Large language models can be biased due to the data they are trained on, which can lead to incorrect results. Enterprises need to ensure that their models are trained on unbiased data and that the predicted results from the LLM are corroborated against actual data in the enterprise. 

In conclusion, while large language models offer significant potential benefits to enterprises, there are several challenges that need to be overcome in order to adopt them effectively.

ChatGPT is one of the most advanced language models in the world. While it is often referred to as a “AI language model,” it is important to note that it is not truly autonomous or intelligent in the same way that humans are. Instead, ChatGPT can be thought of as a highly sophisticated “stochastic parrot.”

A parrot is a bird that has the ability to imitate sounds and mimic speech. While a parrot may seem like it is speaking of its own accord, it is actually just repeating what it has heard before. Similarly, ChatGPT is a model that has been trained on a large dataset of text and has learned to generate responses based on the patterns it has seen in that data.

However, unlike a parrot, ChatGPT uses probabilistic methods to generate its responses. This means that instead of simply repeating what it has seen before, it generates new responses by predicting what is most likely to come next based on the input it receives. This is why ChatGPT is referred to as a “stochastic” model – it generates responses based on probability rather than determinism.

While ChatGPT is extremely advanced and can generate responses that are very human-like, it is still limited by the data it was trained on. For example, if the data it was trained on contains biases or inaccuracies, ChatGPT will also generate biased or inaccurate responses. Additionally, since ChatGPT has not had direct experiences in the world like humans have, it can sometimes produce responses that are nonsensical or that lack context.

Despite these limitations, ChatGPT is still a valuable tool for a wide range of applications. For example, it can be used to generate natural language responses in customer service interactions, to help with content creation, or to assist with language translation. However, it is important to keep in mind that ChatGPT is not a replacement for human intelligence – it is simply a tool that can be used to augment human capabilities.

In conclusion, ChatGPT can be thought of as a highly sophisticated “stochastic parrot.” While it is an impressive model that can generate human-like responses, it is limited by the data it was trained on and is not truly autonomous or intelligent. However, it remains a valuable tool for a wide range of applications and has the potential to greatly augment human capabilities.

PS: The text was generated by ChatGPT….

Robert Solow, an economist, said in 1987 that computers show up everywhere except for the productivity statistics. It took a good two decades at the time for this to fundamentally change.

I predict the same “Solow Paradox” will apply to AI and its newest incarnation LLMs (of which GPT is a variant). Over the next few years a lot will happen in terms of adoption that will not show up positively in productivity statistics (in some cases it will actually show up negatively… 😉). 

The difference will be that gains will start to show up at the end of a single decade of adoption instead of two.

In the finance industry a fat finger event describes a typo with consequences. A few years ago, a Deutsche Bank trader mistakenly transferred 6 billion.

Prediction: This is exactly what will happen with GPT as well. Actually, it will happen with system like Github Copilot. Some programmer isn’t paying attention, doesn’t check the code fragment in which – can also happen GPT – the wrong variable is in it and the live system executes the equivalent of a fat finger..