Papers
Topics
Authors
Recent
Gemini 2.5 Flash
Gemini 2.5 Flash 96 tok/s
Gemini 2.5 Pro 49 tok/s Pro
GPT-5 Medium 24 tok/s
GPT-5 High 36 tok/s Pro
GPT-4o 102 tok/s
GPT OSS 120B 434 tok/s Pro
Kimi K2 198 tok/s Pro
2000 character limit reached

Uncertainty of Thoughts: Uncertainty-Aware Planning Enhances Information Seeking in Large Language Models (2402.03271v3)

Published 5 Feb 2024 in cs.CL, cs.AI, and cs.LG

Abstract: In the face of uncertainty, the ability to seek information is of fundamental importance. In many practical applications, such as medical diagnosis and troubleshooting, the information needed to solve the task is not initially given and has to be actively sought by asking follow-up questions (for example, a doctor asking a patient for more details about their symptoms). In this work, we introduce Uncertainty of Thoughts (UoT), an algorithm to augment LLMs with the ability to actively seek information by asking effective questions. UoT combines 1) an uncertainty-aware simulation approach which enables the model to simulate possible future scenarios and how likely they are to occur, 2) uncertainty-based rewards motivated by information gain which incentivizes the model to seek information, and 3) a reward propagation scheme to select the optimal question to ask in a way that maximizes the expected reward. In experiments on medical diagnosis, troubleshooting, and the 20 Questions game, UoT achieves an average performance improvement of 38.1% in the rate of successful task completion across multiple LLMs compared with direct prompting and also improves efficiency (i.e., the number of questions needed to complete the task). Our code has been released here

Citations (6)
List To Do Tasks Checklist Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Collections

Sign up for free to add this paper to one or more collections.

Summary

  • The paper introduces UoT, which enhances LLMs' active information seeking by simulating future scenarios with uncertainty-aware planning.
  • It employs an uncertainty-aware simulation model, entropy-based rewards, and reward propagation, resulting in a 57.8% boost in task success rates.
  • The study demonstrates significant practical improvements in varied applications, including medical diagnostics, troubleshooting, and the 20 Questions game.

Enhancing Information Seeking in LLMs with Uncertainty-Aware Planning

The paper introduces "Uncertainty of Thoughts" (UoT), a novel algorithm designed to augment the performance of LLMs in scenarios requiring active information-seeking, particularly through the mechanism of targeted questioning. This approach is grounded in the theoretical framework of planning under uncertainty, which is a significant area of research in artificial intelligence where agents must make decisions with incomplete information (Blythe, 2001).

Methodological Contributions

UoT employs three main methodological components: an uncertainty-aware simulation model, uncertainty-based rewards, and a reward propagation scheme. Together, these components enable LLMs to better simulate potential future states and actively seek information that can refine their understanding of a given problem space.

  1. Uncertainty-Aware Simulation: UoT equips LLMs with the ability to generate and simulate questions that map to plausible future scenarios. This is realized through a tree structure where future sequences of conversation are visualized, allowing the model to simulate the effects of various questions.
  2. Uncertainty-Based Rewards: Building upon entropy and information gain principles, the reward mechanism in UoT encourages LLMs to ask questions that most effectively reduce their uncertainty about the task. The proposed reward function normalizes information gain to keep the reward values between 0 and 1, optimizing the selection of questions that maximize information acquisition.
  3. Reward Propagation: UoT incorporates a mechanism for reward propagation that accumulates rewards over a sequence of decisions. This allows the model to identify which questions will likely yield the greatest informational return in future exchanges rather than focusing solely on immediate outcomes.

Experimental Results

UoT has been rigorously tested across multiple tasks: medical diagnosis, troubleshooting, and the 20 Questions game. The results are compelling, showing a 57.8% increase in task completion success rates over baseline models utilizing direct prompting. These improvements were consistently observed across several state-of-the-art LLMs, including GPT-4 and PaLM 2, affirming the robustness and generalizability of the algorithm.

Theoretical Implications

UoT presents a significant advancement in aligning LLM capabilities with principles of active information-seeking behavior—a primary human cognitive function in uncertain environments. The integration of an uncertainty-aware framework invites further exploration into how LLMs can autonomously modify their interaction strategies in response to the changing informational context, potentially offering new pathways for interactive AI systems.

Practical Implications

In practice, UoT's enhancements extend the applicability of LLMs to settings demanding nuanced decision-making capabilities, such as real-time medical diagnostics and complex troubleshooting tasks. These applications necessitate not only accurate problem solving but also efficient information acquisition strategies. The average performance improvements demonstrated in diverse experimental contexts suggest significant potential for implementation in deployed AI systems.

Future Directions

Several avenues for future research emerge from this work. The extension of UoT to more dynamic environments—where the assumption that affirmative and negative responses completely partition possibility sets may not hold—presents an opportunity for refining the algorithm's capabilities further. Additionally, exploring both the computational efficiency and scalability of UoT in more complex decision-making frameworks could enhance its integration into broader AI workflows.

In conclusion, the introduction of the Uncertainty of Thoughts algorithm marks an important step forward in the development of intelligent agents capable of functioning effectively in uncertain environments. By focusing on the dynamic interplay between simulation, uncertainty, and planning, this approach opens new avenues for enhancing the interactive and decision-making capabilities of LLMs.

Dice Question Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Follow-up Questions

We haven't generated follow-up questions for this paper yet.

X Twitter Logo Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Tweets