Did you hear about the Google employee who got fired for claiming one of their AI models had become sentient?

In a statement, Google described the claim as “wholly unfounded” and emphasized their commitment to “responsible innovation.” If only this unfortunate former employee had known: sensationalism and hype is almost never the correct response to new technology.

But the thing is, large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s LaMDA do kind of seem sentient. If you don’t understand how these technologies work, they’re bound to seem like magic. And if even a Google engineer can be duped by an AI large language model, the rest of us definitely need to be on our toes.

So let’s talk about it. What are large language models? How do they work? And how can we use them to our advantage? (Not the other way around.)

A large language model (LLM) is an artificial intelligence that is designed to understand and generate text-based language. These models are trained on vast amounts of data to understand natural language prompts and generate text-based outputs. They’re a type of generative AI, which refers to artificial intelligence systems and models that can generate new content, such as text, images, or even music, based on patterns and data they have learned from. LLMs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT are trained on vast amounts of text-based data from the internet. They can understand human language prompts and generate responses that appear almost indistinguishable from human-written text.

LLMs’ ability to generate human-like text has made them valuable tools to support everything from content creation to chatbots and customer support systems. Some people also use them as a research tool to get concise, synthesized information faster than they could by doing a Google search. But don’t rely too heavily on AI for research—they’ve been known to “hallucinate,” or make up false information. They’re a good place to start, but make sure a human fact checker keeps their hands on the wheel.

[ Learn more about the differences of large language models vs. generative AI. ]

Have you ever heard that quote from science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke that says, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”? Personally, I don’t love that take. In a world where so much is unknowable, technology is actually something we can understand, at least at a basic level. Large language models are no exception.

Some of the simplest language models were developed in the 1960s and used a rules-based system to mimic human conversation, while modern-day large language models are more complex. Here’s a simplified overview of how LLMs do what they do: 

Pre-training: Before it can be used, an LLM is trained on a dataset of text, usually from the internet. The largest models are trained on datasets with billions of parameters, learning grammar, context, and facts. They are given incomplete sentences and asked to practice predicting the missing words.

Tokenization: Once an LLM has been trained, it is ready to be used. To use an LLM, you start by giving it a prompt in the form of a phrase or sentence. The LLM divides the text from your prompt into smaller units called tokens, which it converts into numerical representations it can understand mathematically.

Transformer architecture: In 2017, LLMs began using a neural network (which is a computational model that mimics the structure and function of the human brain) called a transformer architecture to process tokens, understand context, and generate output text. This transformer architecture is the hallmark of the modern LLM. It's called a "transformer" because it transforms input data into output data. Transformers use something called a self-attention mechanism that allows them to weigh the importance of different parts of the original input data when making predictions. Transformer models are also capable of parallel processing, meaning they can process all parts of input data at once, which makes them much faster than older models that processed data one piece at a time.

Inference: When given a prompt, the pre-trained model uses its understanding of language and context to predict and generate the most likely next tokens, producing coherent, contextually relevant text as output—but notice I didn’t say correct (more on that later). Although LLMs give a convincing performance, these outputs aren’t actually original, creative thoughts. They are mathematically derived inferences or predictions of what text is most likely to follow your prompt, based on their training. 

Large language models are being used everywhere. LLM-powered chatbots and virtual assistants provide natural language interactions for customer support and answering queries. LLMs are also invaluable for language translation, summarizing lengthy documents, and generating concise answers in question-answering systems. They also play a crucial role in sentiment analysis, helping businesses gauge public opinion and customer feedback.

In the healthcare sector, LLMs assist in medical research by analyzing vast volumes of medical literature and aiding in diagnostic processes. In the legal field, they streamline document analysis, contract review, and legal research. LLMs are also increasingly involved in code generation, supporting software developers with code snippets and debugging assistance. In education, they serve as powerful tools for tutoring, language learning, and creating educational content. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what this technology can do.

These versatile models, with their profound natural language processing and text generation capabilities, are revolutionizing industries and domains by automating tasks, improving processes, and enhancing user experiences.

Large language models and generative AI more broadly have opened the door to new possibilities in the realm of artificial intelligence. Some might even say they’ve blown the door off its hinges. So you’d be right to be excited about generative AI and LLMs. But we need to stay grounded in acknowledging their limitations, too.

Here’s what to be careful of when it comes to using LLM-generated content:

1. AI hallucinations. We can’t always trust that information generated by LLMs is 100% accurate. Remember, LLM outputs are inferences, predictions. But because they are so often correct, it’s easy to forget they’re not infallible. When AI makes up false information and presents it as fact, it’s called a “hallucination.” This is why human fact-checkers and expert reviewers are so important to include in the content creation process.
2. Biases. It’s not just false information we need to watch out for—AI can also generate content that is highly biased, even prejudiced. Think about all the content that exists on the internet. That’s the training ground for most open-source AI models. AI can inherit the biases of the data it’s trained on, posing a significant challenge for the future of generative AI tools.
3. Lack of common sense and tone issues. LLMs may struggle with common-sense reasoning and understanding nuanced context in longer texts, which can result in responses that lack coherence or relevance. They may also provide outputs that take a tone that is overly formal, overly casual, or just plain strange. LLM prompt generation is an art. It’s important for users to understand what kinds of prompts LLMs are likely to respond best to to get the highest quality output. Sometimes this means breaking prompts out into a series of more specific questions and telling the AI what you’re looking for in a response.
4. Data privacy. When you interact with a public LLM like ChatGPT, anything you enter into the system becomes data it can use to improve its future outputs. Simply put, you’re giving away your data for free. If you give a public AI model access to your company’s data, the model may use that data to provide better services for anyone, including your competitors. If data privacy is important to you, look for a company that offers private AI options.

[ Learn how to get started with AI without the risk in our eBook, Implementing Private AI: A Practical Guide. ]