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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abolghasemi, MAhdi, Ganbold, Odkhishig, Rotaru, Kristian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.06941
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author Abolghasemi, MAhdi
Ganbold, Odkhishig
Rotaru, Kristian
author_facet Abolghasemi, MAhdi
Ganbold, Odkhishig
Rotaru, Kristian
contents This study investigates the forecasting accuracy of human experts versus Large Language Models (LLMs) in the retail sector, particularly during standard and promotional sales periods. Utilizing a controlled experimental setup with 123 human forecasters and five LLMs, including ChatGPT4, ChatGPT3.5, Bard, Bing, and Llama2, we evaluated forecasting precision through Mean Absolute Percentage Error. Our analysis centered on the effect of the following factors on forecasters performance: the supporting statistical model (baseline and advanced), whether the product was on promotion, and the nature of external impact. The findings indicate that LLMs do not consistently outperform humans in forecasting accuracy and that advanced statistical forecasting models do not uniformly enhance the performance of either human forecasters or LLMs. Both human and LLM forecasters exhibited increased forecasting errors, particularly during promotional periods and under the influence of positive external impacts. Our findings call for careful consideration when integrating LLMs into practical forecasting processes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_06941
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Humans vs Large Language Models: Judgmental Forecasting in an Era of Advanced AI
Abolghasemi, MAhdi
Ganbold, Odkhishig
Rotaru, Kristian
Machine Learning
Computers and Society
This study investigates the forecasting accuracy of human experts versus Large Language Models (LLMs) in the retail sector, particularly during standard and promotional sales periods. Utilizing a controlled experimental setup with 123 human forecasters and five LLMs, including ChatGPT4, ChatGPT3.5, Bard, Bing, and Llama2, we evaluated forecasting precision through Mean Absolute Percentage Error. Our analysis centered on the effect of the following factors on forecasters performance: the supporting statistical model (baseline and advanced), whether the product was on promotion, and the nature of external impact. The findings indicate that LLMs do not consistently outperform humans in forecasting accuracy and that advanced statistical forecasting models do not uniformly enhance the performance of either human forecasters or LLMs. Both human and LLM forecasters exhibited increased forecasting errors, particularly during promotional periods and under the influence of positive external impacts. Our findings call for careful consideration when integrating LLMs into practical forecasting processes.
title Humans vs Large Language Models: Judgmental Forecasting in an Era of Advanced AI
topic Machine Learning
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.06941