LLM Compendium: Hallucinations

LLM Compendium: Hallucinations

Large language models (LLMs) are akin to confident storytellers that sometimes make up details that sound believable but aren't true. These hallucinations occur when LLMs generate information that seems accurate but is actually incorrect or completely fabricated. It's important to note that the models aren't lying on purpose; they simply don't always know what's real and fill gaps with made-up content.

For example, if a generative AI model is asked when Barack Obama died, it might respond with a claim that he died in 1865. Extra care must be taken to verify the results produced by LLMs before using them in various fields. A well-known case involved hallucinations appearing in court: a lawyer representing a man who sued an airline relied on ChatGPT to help prepare a court filing, and the AI came up with completely fabricated case precedents.

Fortunately, various techniques exist to help large language models avoid hallucinations. Some of these include fine-tuning the models and using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) for more reliable results.

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Keywords

• Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Hallucinations
• Generative AI
• Case Precedents
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Fine-Tuning
• Verifying AI Results

FAQ

Q1: What is an LLM hallucination? A: LLM hallucinations occur when large language models generate information that seems accurate but is actually incorrect or completely fabricated.

Q2: Why do LLMs produce hallucinations? A: LLMs produce hallucinations because they don't always know what's real and fill in gaps with made-up content.

Q3: Can AI hallucinations be prevented? A: Various techniques such as fine-tuning the models and using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) can help reduce the occurrence of hallucinations in large language models.

Q4: Is hallucination in AI the same as lying? A: No, AI hallucinations are not intentional lies; the models don't deliberately produce incorrect information but rather try to generate answers to the best of their ability, sometimes resulting in fabricated content.

Q5: Are there any documented cases of LLM hallucinations causing issues? A: Yes, a famous case involved a lawyer using ChatGPT to prepare a court filing, resulting in completely fabricated case precedents.

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