Emissions and Performance Trade-off Between Small and Large Language Models

Abstract: The advent of LLMs has raised concerns about their enormous carbon footprint, starting with energy-intensive training and continuing through repeated inference. This study investigates the potential of using fine-tuned Small LLMs (SLMs) as a sustainable alternative for predefined tasks. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the performance-emissions trade-off between LLMs and fine-tuned SLMs across selected tasks under Natural Language Processing, Reasoning and Programming. Our results show that in four out of the six selected tasks, SLMs maintained comparable performances for a significant reduction in carbon emissions during inference. Our findings demonstrate the viability of smaller models in mitigating the environmental impact of resource-heavy LLMs, thus advancing towards sustainable, green AI.