Generative Monoculture in Large Language Models

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Wu, Fan, Black, Emily, Chandrasekaran, Varun
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Wu, Fan
Black, Emily
Chandrasekaran, Varun
author_facet Wu, Fan
Black, Emily
Chandrasekaran, Varun
contents We introduce {\em generative monoculture}, a behavior observed in large language models (LLMs) characterized by a significant narrowing of model output diversity relative to available training data for a given task: for example, generating only positive book reviews for books with a mixed reception. While in some cases, generative monoculture enhances performance (e.g., LLMs more often produce efficient code), the dangers are exacerbated in others (e.g., LLMs refuse to share diverse opinions). As LLMs are increasingly used in high-impact settings such as education and web search, careful maintenance of LLM output diversity is essential to ensure a variety of facts and perspectives are preserved over time. We experimentally demonstrate the prevalence of generative monoculture through analysis of book review and code generation tasks, and find that simple countermeasures such as altering sampling or prompting strategies are insufficient to mitigate the behavior. Moreover, our results suggest that the root causes of generative monoculture are likely embedded within the LLM's alignment processes, suggesting a need for developing fine-tuning paradigms that preserve or promote diversity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_02209
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Generative Monoculture in Large Language Models
Wu, Fan
Black, Emily
Chandrasekaran, Varun
Computation and Language
Artificial Intelligence
We introduce {\em generative monoculture}, a behavior observed in large language models (LLMs) characterized by a significant narrowing of model output diversity relative to available training data for a given task: for example, generating only positive book reviews for books with a mixed reception. While in some cases, generative monoculture enhances performance (e.g., LLMs more often produce efficient code), the dangers are exacerbated in others (e.g., LLMs refuse to share diverse opinions). As LLMs are increasingly used in high-impact settings such as education and web search, careful maintenance of LLM output diversity is essential to ensure a variety of facts and perspectives are preserved over time. We experimentally demonstrate the prevalence of generative monoculture through analysis of book review and code generation tasks, and find that simple countermeasures such as altering sampling or prompting strategies are insufficient to mitigate the behavior. Moreover, our results suggest that the root causes of generative monoculture are likely embedded within the LLM's alignment processes, suggesting a need for developing fine-tuning paradigms that preserve or promote diversity.
title Generative Monoculture in Large Language Models
topic Computation and Language
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.02209