Summary

Instead of labeling data by hand and training one model for one application, you tell your foundation model to go read a bunch of unalbeled data and understand it, then with this ground knwoedge we can have one foundation model for several applicaitons. You end up with a large versatile model with more human-like capabilities.

A Strong AI Concept

Definition: Large-scale neural networks serving as a base for multiple applications. Instead of training models from scratch, foundation models are fine-tuned for specific applications.

Training Characteristics: - Huge Amount of Data: Gigabytes to petabytes. - Unsupervised Learning: No need for manual annotation. - Unstructured Data: Models learn from vast amounts of text and other unstructured data.

Paradigm Shift in AI

  • Old Approach: Training one model per dataset for a specific function (Narrow AI).
  • New Approach: Singular foundation models can drive multiple use cases and applications, replacing the need for several independently trained models (Strong AI).

Advantages

  • Performance: Extensive data exposure provides contextual understanding.
  • Efficiency: Saves time and resources.
  • Accuracy: Better predictions.
  • Versatility: Adaptable to various tasks like language translation, content generation, and image recognition.
  • Small Data Training: Effective even with incomplete data (e.g., editing a choppy email).

Disadvantages

  • Computing Cost: Expensive to train and run, requiring multiple GPUs.
  • Trust Issues: Training data may contain unvetted, discriminatory, or false information. Efforts are ongoing to produce more reliable training data.

Types of Models

  • Language Models: Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT.
  • Vision Models: DALLE-2 for image generation.
  • Scientific Models:
    • Biology: Predicting protein folding for medicine development.
    • Geology: Developing climate change technologies.
  • Audio Models: For processing and generating audio.
  • Code Models: Copilot for coding assistance.

Fine-Tuning

  • Process: Foundation models can be fine-tuned with a small amount of labeled data to perform traditional supervised learning tasks.

Prompting

  • Definition: Asking the model questions instead of training it on new data.