Localized Zeroth-Order Prompt Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Hu, Wenyang, Shu, Yao, Yu, Zongmin, Wu, Zhaoxuan, Lin, Xiangqiang, Dai, Zhongxiang, Ng, See-Kiong, Low, Bryan Kian Hsiang
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Hu, Wenyang
Shu, Yao
Yu, Zongmin
Wu, Zhaoxuan
Lin, Xiangqiang
Dai, Zhongxiang
Ng, See-Kiong
Low, Bryan Kian Hsiang
author_facet Hu, Wenyang
Shu, Yao
Yu, Zongmin
Wu, Zhaoxuan
Lin, Xiangqiang
Dai, Zhongxiang
Ng, See-Kiong
Low, Bryan Kian Hsiang
contents The efficacy of large language models (LLMs) in understanding and generating natural language has aroused a wide interest in developing prompt-based methods to harness the power of black-box LLMs. Existing methodologies usually prioritize a global optimization for finding the global optimum, which however will perform poorly in certain tasks. This thus motivates us to re-think the necessity of finding a global optimum in prompt optimization. To answer this, we conduct a thorough empirical study on prompt optimization and draw two major insights. Contrasting with the rarity of global optimum, local optima are usually prevalent and well-performed, which can be more worthwhile for efficient prompt optimization (Insight I). The choice of the input domain, covering both the generation and the representation of prompts, affects the identification of well-performing local optima (Insight II). Inspired by these insights, we propose a novel algorithm, namely localized zeroth-order prompt optimization (ZOPO), which incorporates a Neural Tangent Kernel-based derived Gaussian process into standard zeroth-order optimization for an efficient search of well-performing local optima in prompt optimization. Remarkably, ZOPO outperforms existing baselines in terms of both the optimization performance and the query efficiency, which we demonstrate through extensive experiments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_02993
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Localized Zeroth-Order Prompt Optimization
Hu, Wenyang
Shu, Yao
Yu, Zongmin
Wu, Zhaoxuan
Lin, Xiangqiang
Dai, Zhongxiang
Ng, See-Kiong
Low, Bryan Kian Hsiang
Artificial Intelligence
The efficacy of large language models (LLMs) in understanding and generating natural language has aroused a wide interest in developing prompt-based methods to harness the power of black-box LLMs. Existing methodologies usually prioritize a global optimization for finding the global optimum, which however will perform poorly in certain tasks. This thus motivates us to re-think the necessity of finding a global optimum in prompt optimization. To answer this, we conduct a thorough empirical study on prompt optimization and draw two major insights. Contrasting with the rarity of global optimum, local optima are usually prevalent and well-performed, which can be more worthwhile for efficient prompt optimization (Insight I). The choice of the input domain, covering both the generation and the representation of prompts, affects the identification of well-performing local optima (Insight II). Inspired by these insights, we propose a novel algorithm, namely localized zeroth-order prompt optimization (ZOPO), which incorporates a Neural Tangent Kernel-based derived Gaussian process into standard zeroth-order optimization for an efficient search of well-performing local optima in prompt optimization. Remarkably, ZOPO outperforms existing baselines in terms of both the optimization performance and the query efficiency, which we demonstrate through extensive experiments.
title Localized Zeroth-Order Prompt Optimization
topic Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.02993