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Process for Adapting Language Models to Society (PALMS) with Values-Targeted Datasets (2106.10328v2)

Published 18 Jun 2021 in cs.CL and cs.CY

Abstract: LLMs can generate harmful and biased outputs and exhibit undesirable behavior according to a given cultural context. We propose a Process for Adapting LLMs to Society (PALMS) with Values-Targeted Datasets, an iterative process to significantly change model behavior by crafting and fine-tuning on a dataset that reflects a predetermined set of target values. We evaluate our process using three metrics: quantitative metrics with human evaluations that score output adherence to a target value, toxicity scoring on outputs; and qualitative metrics analyzing the most common word associated with a given social category. Through each iteration, we add additional training dataset examples based on observed shortcomings from evaluations. PALMS performs significantly better on all metrics compared to baseline and control models for a broad range of GPT-3 LLM sizes without compromising capability integrity. We find that the effectiveness of PALMS increases with model size. We show that significantly adjusting LLM behavior is feasible with a small, hand-curated dataset.

Citations (198)

Summary

  • The paper introduces PALMS, a method that fine-tunes language models using hand-curated, values-targeted datasets to align outputs with societal norms.
  • It demonstrates significant reductions in toxicity and bias through iterative evaluations with the Perspective API and human reviews, especially in large-scale models.
  • Findings indicate that minimal, targeted dataset adjustments can recalibrate LLM behavior, promoting safer and more culturally inclusive AI applications.

Process for Adapting LLMs to Society (PALMS) with Values-Targeted Datasets

The paper "Process for Adapting LLMs to Society (PALMS) with Values-Targeted Datasets" addresses the substantial challenge of aligning LLM behavior with sociocultural norms to mitigate potentially harmful and biased outputs. The authors propose an innovative method, PALMS, which utilizes hand-curated values-targeted datasets to fine-tune pre-existing models like GPT-3, thereby targeting desirable behaviors aligned with specific ethical and cultural standards.

Key Methodology and Findings

PALMS is conceptualized as an iterative process where each cycle involves the selection of sensitive topics, elaboration of values-aligned behavior descriptions, development of dataset prompts, crafting of aligned completions, fine-tuning, and rigorous evaluations. The paper demonstrates the capability of PALMS using a set of carefully selected topics, including human characteristics and behavior, to showcase reduced toxicity and enhanced adherence to pre-set values.

Quantitatively, the PALMS models outperformed both base and control models on toxicity and human evaluation metrics. The toxicity scoring leveraged Perspective API, producing average scores significantly lower in the values-targeted models compared to baseline models, particularly at larger scales. Human evaluators provided higher adherence scores for outputs from values-targeted models, affirming alignment with the intended behavioral norms.

Qualitative evaluations highlighted improvements in sentiment bias against categories such as gender, religion, and race. Descriptive word associations revealed a shift towards neutrality when compared to the baseline, illustrating PALMS' capacity to address intrinsic biases within LLM outputs. Notably, the efficacy of the PALMS approach scales with the model size, with the largest improvements observed in the 175B parameter models.

Implications and Future Directions

The research suggests that fine-tuning using a minimal dataset can effectively recalibrate LLM behavior, potentially offering a resource-efficient approach to model alignment. The implications for AI deployment in culturally diverse settings are significant; however, the need for culturally representative datasets remains a pressing challenge.

Practically, PALMS underscores the power and responsibility to define 'desired behavior,' emphasizing the necessity for inclusive, diverse representation in decision-making processes regarding model training datasets. Theoretically, the paper hints at the development of scaling laws, proposing that fewer examples may achieve substantial behavioral alterations as LLM sizes increase.

Further exploration is warranted in determining the generalizability of PALMS across languages, domains, and potentially other generative model modalities such as image and audio models. Additionally, understanding the fine-tuning effects on capability integrity demands further investigation to ensure robust performance across a wide spectrum of tasks.

Conclusion

"Process for Adapting LLMs to Society (PALMS) with Values-Targeted Datasets" positions itself as a robust framework for the societal alignment of LLMs, crucial in an era where the ethical deployment of AI is paramount. By demonstrating tangible improvements in behavioral adjustments without degrading core capabilities, the paper offers a pragmatic path forward for aligning AI systems with varying sociocultural contexts, fostering safer and more inclusive AI technologies.

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