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Carsten Felix Draschner, PhD

Blog Posts

  1. Choosing the Right LLM for Your Needs - Key Considerations

    Consider the key factors when selecting a Large Language Model (LLM) for your project.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Benchmark Performance
    • License
    • Model Size
    • Alignment
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  2. Stop adding Languages to LLMs! The Potential Drawbacks of Training Multilingual Large Language Models (LLMs) for Performance and Sustainability!

    Exploring the downsides of creating multilingual LLMs and their impact on performance and resource utilization.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Challenges of building multilingual LLMs
    • Inefficiencies in token usage and context length
    • Increased hardware costs and reduced token training
    • Weighing multilingual models against language-specific models
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  3. Where Science Meets Innovation - My personal Highlights & Insights into the PG 2024! Do you have answers to the open Questions?

    Highlights and open questions from the Petersberger Gespräche (PG) 2024, covering AI, energy transition, chip technologies, and more.

    PG 2024 Highlights

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • AI and consciousness discussions
    • Energy transition and regulatory challenges
    • Distributed chip technologies in Europe
    • Generative AI in media
    • Metaverse applications beyond gaming
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  4. Today's Research Proposal - How to achieve "real" thinking and reasoning in GenAI, rather than just relying on a silent Chain of Thought, as seen in ReflectionAI or possibly GPT-o1?

    Exploring the potential for achieving true reasoning and thinking in Generative AI models beyond the current Chain of Thought methodologies.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Current state of reasoning in models
    • Possibilities for transformers to learn to think
    • Customization ideas for achieving true reasoning
    • Open questions and discussion points
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  5. For more sustainability transparency in GenAI! Share your knowledge and reduce energy waste!

    Emphasizing the importance of transparency and shared knowledge to enhance sustainability in GenAI.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • GenAI involves very large models and significant training efforts
    • Transparency can help share emissions and reduce energy waste
    • Open source models can optimize future development
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  6. Sustainable Air-Gapped On-Prem LLM Solution! How can we make GenAI available on almost any hardware, and how is it also available as a portable demo on our Alan Notebook

    Exploring the development of a full-stack GenAI LLM solution that can run on a variety of hardware configurations, including a portable demo setup.

    Alan Notebook

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Developing Alan, a full-stack GenAI LLM solution
    • Hosted on German hyperscaler infrastructure
    • Offers a smaller version, Alan-S-LLM
    • Portable demo available on Alan Notebook
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  7. Combining the Hugging Face Model Platform and Knowledge Graph trend analysis over time could improve GenAI research and reduce waste of energy!

    Exploring the potential of leveraging knowledge graphs to analyze trends in evolving models for better GenAI research and efficiency.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Leveraging knowledge graphs for GenAI trends
    • Identifying high-performing models and best practices
    • Potential for a crowd-sourced GenAI cookbook
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  8. What is the perfect approach to adjust an LLM to your GenAI use case?

    Exploring various methods to customize LLMs for specific GenAI use cases, ranging from simple to complex approaches.

    Model Training

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Various ways to customize LLMs for specific use cases
    • Approaches vary in difficulty and complexity
    • Pros and cons of different methods
    • More dimensions to improve GenAI use cases
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  9. These results give me hope for sustainable AI 🌱

    I'm impressed by some of the recent advances in the field of "small" open-weight Language Models (LLMs).

    Sustainable AI

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Increased documentation supports reproducibility
    • Data quality improves model performance
    • Model distillation reduces hardware needs
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  10. LLMs - Big vs Small. Bigger is Better!? OR Let's not waste energy!?

    The AI community is abuzz with debates over the efficacy of large versus small language models. Both have their own merits and limitations.

    Model Size

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • AI community debates model sizes
    • Massive models vs. smaller, efficient models
    • Insights and future predictions
    • Links to further reading
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  11. GenAI, what is plagiarism? Its Impact on Science. How should it be handled? What is your perspective?

    Discussing the implications of GenAI on scientific work and the thin line between acceptable use and plagiarism.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Use of GenAI in scientific work
    • Acceptable vs. debatable vs. critical usage
    • Questions and concerns about plagiarism
    • The pressure on researchers and students
    • Opportunities for better research
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  12. Adjust GenAI responses towards more ethical behavior possible through system prompts!? Do you trust in such LLM-chat prepended pamphlets?

    Exploring the potential and challenges of using system prompts to guide LLM behavior towards ethical outputs.

    Ethical AI

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • GenAI chat interactions often include system prompts
    • System prompts aim to guide ethical LLM behavior
    • Challenges exist in ensuring compliance and formulation
    • Questions on designing and revealing system prompts
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  13. Alternative to GenAI creativity? Watch and try out these fun Evolutionary Algorithms. Problem-solving without GenAI and SGD-based approaches explained!

    Exploring Evolutionary Algorithms as an alternative to GenAI for problem-solving, using a fun 2D vehicle race example.

    Evo Cars

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • There is hype around GenAI and LLMs
    • Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) offer an alternative
    • A fun example of EAs using a 2D vehicle race
    • Steps involved in EAs explained
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  14. Do we need another GenAI solution? How & why we developed a full-stack GenAI LLM+RAG tool called Alan. A sneak peek at what I am currently working on.

    An overview of the motivations and technical aspects behind developing our own GenAI solution, Alan, at Comma Soft AG.

    Alan PDF

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Diverse GenAI solutions exist
    • Unique motivations for developing our own tool
    • Technical advantages of our solution
    • Questions on custom development vs. wrappers
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  15. Will we reach AGI, and if so, by transformers-based architectures? Share your perspective!

    Exploring the potential of transformers-based architectures in achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and the ongoing debate surrounding it.

    AGI Target

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • GenAI's impact on AGI discussions
    • Technical challenges with transformer-based architectures
    • Optimistic yet cautious approach at Comma Soft AG
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  16. Do you differentiate AI Ethics principles between AI/ML fields like GenAI/LLMs or Knowledge Graph-based ML? How do we deal with so-called facts on the internet as training data?

    Exploring the nuances of AI ethics across different AI/ML fields and handling internet-based training data responsibly.

    Ethics in AI

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • AI ethics principles across different AI/ML fields
    • Personal background and perspective on AI ethics
    • Recommendations and further reading on AI ethics
    • Questions to ponder on AI ethics practices
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  17. What expectations do you have regarding the values and norms of your GenAI chat assistants? Highly sensitive topic in the LLM space! My take...

    Exploring the ethical considerations and expectations surrounding the values and norms embedded in GenAI chat assistants.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • LLMs generate text based on training
    • Alignment and finetuning influence behavior
    • Ethical considerations in different languages
    • Need for a holistic view on model behavior
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  18. Be careful when you speak of Open (Source) GenAI. Why OpenAI and Meta (shouldn't) use the word Open within their GenAI efforts?

    Examining the implications of using the term "Open" in the context of GenAI by organizations like OpenAI and Meta.

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    TL;DR 🚅

    • Open Source is a huge and important field in computer science and AI
    • The word "Open" is used widely within the GenAI field: OpenAI, Open Source LLMs
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  19. Thanks to the Open Source Community for all their efforts! Greetings from PyCon 2024

    Expressing gratitude to the open-source community and sharing experiences from PyConDE & PyData Berlin 2024.

    PyCon 2024

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Trip to PyCon with colleagues
    • Attended insightful talks in various AI fields
    • Appreciation for open-source community
    • Gratitude to all contributors and supporters
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  20. Who will take care of truly low-resource languages? A good step towards more fair GenAI LLM pricing at OpenAI for Japanese-using people!

    Exploring the challenges and recent developments in addressing low-resource languages within the GenAI landscape, with a focus on OpenAI's efforts for the Japanese language.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Issues with LLMs for low-resource languages
    • Major challenges with different character languages
    • OpenAI's new dedicated model for Japanese
    • Concerns about AI ethics and inequality
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  21. What is your preferred LLM family? And do you start with an already finetuned LLM? Why you have chosen this LLM? I love to hear your perspective!

    Understanding the preferences and choices behind selecting specific LLM families and their finetuned variants.

    Which Model

    TL;DR ⏱️

    • GenAI for text implemented by LLMs
    • Many open-source models available
    • Continuous influx of new models
    • Key foundation model families
    • LLM-based GenAI pipelines at Comma Soft AG
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  22. NVIDIA Benchmark might be WRONG cause it states - You lose money AND LLM inference speed if you add more NVIDIA A100. This NVIDIA Benchmark is NOT reliable.

    Analyzing the reliability of NVIDIA's benchmark results and the implications for LLM inference speed and hardware investment.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Terms and background on LLMs and inference
    • Strange findings in NVIDIA's benchmark results
    • Concerns about the reliability of these benchmarks
    • Questions and further reading on the topic
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  23. Too many LLMs?! How to keep track with all the Open Source Models? Identify the finetuned-masked LLMs and its position within the GenAI landscape!

    Navigating the complex landscape of GenAI models can be challenging, but it's crucial to understand the foundational and finetuned models to make informed decisions.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • The GenAI landscape is crowded with many models
    • Keeping track of innovations and true effects is hard
    • Transparency issues with many so-called "open-source" models
    • Recommendations for navigating this landscape
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  24. Be careful when you are using LLAMA-2! Legal risks & Sustainability Implications due to LLAMA-2 is (NOT) Open Source.

    Important considerations regarding LLAMA-2's legal and sustainability implications.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • LLAMA-2's legal and sustainability challenges
    • Not truly open-source according to OSD
    • Technical implications of its license
    • Meta's restrictions and their broader impact
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  25. The major players in GenAI are facing challenges with their Generative AIs. GenAI capabilities and security issues related to LLMs Tools • 37C3 Presentation

    Challenges and security issues in GenAI and LLMs, highlighted at 37C3.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • GenAI has immense capabilities
    • Ethical and secure GenAI pipelines are crucial
    • 37C3 presentation on security issues and exploitations
    • Categories of threats and challenges in GenAI
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  26. Not prompting in English?... You have Problems!! LLM Language Barriers • Democratizing GenAI and fair pricing

    Exploring the challenges of using Generative AI with languages other than English and the implications for cost and performance.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Tokenizers and their role in LLMs
    • Challenges of non-English prompts
    • Efficiency and fairness in GenAI
    • Recommendations for LLM pipelines
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  27. Ever wondered about open source LLLM sizes - 7B, 13B, 70B?

    Where do those model sizes come from?... My findings!

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Open-source LLM alternatives to AIaaS
    • Hugging Face as a source for open-source models
    • Many models are finetuned variants
    • Bigger models imply slower inference & higher costs
    • Different use cases require different model capabilities
    • Questioning the parameter step sizes of models
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  28. DALLE has surprising guardrails. Your image is not filtered based on your prompt. "Dead cookies" may be generated ...sometimes

    Interesting findings on DALLE's content filtering mechanisms.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • DALLE-3 filters your content AFTER image creation
    • With prompt “dead cookies” you can reproduce inconsistent filtering over OpenAI API
    • 40% of cases with same “dead cookies” prompt stop through content filter and 60% reach us over API
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  29. Evil LLMs available! Break GenAI Alignment through finetuning!

    Need for LLM Alignment transparency?

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • Powerful LLMs are mostly aligned
    • Alignment can be broken through finetuning
    • Need for transparency in alignment processes
    • Questions about alignment in LLMs
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)
  30. LLAMA2 13B is faster than LLAMA2 7B, according to NVIDIA benchmark!

    Interesting findings on NVIDIA's LLAMA 2 benchmark results.

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    TL;DR ⏱️

    • NVIDIA LLAMA 2 Benchmark results
    • LLAMA 13B reported faster than LLAMA 7B
    • Questions about the accuracy of these findings
    • Seeking community insights
    (Read More)  (Original-Websource)