Comment by nico
13 hours ago
Not sure about how the code in this project works. But the way I see it, an LLM+chat is a great interface for information. If you then connect it to a db with the knowledge/articles you need, then you get a great way to navigate it, without needing the model to memorize all the info
I think that if I were to build this I might skip the LLM and just setup a nice interface to the source files using qmd style search. [0]
That way the tiny model isn't acting as a potentially incorrect interpreter but you still get semantic search to help you find the right documents quickly.
I suppose there is something to be said for a good summarization, I just worry that these tiny models aren't really GOOD summarizers.
[0] https://github.com/tobi/qmd
Awesome, I didn't know qmd style search, thank you!
I'm all up for using the better/simpler task for the job. That's been a thing lately also with the Jev/decision models hype, most of those things can either already be done by a pretrained classifier[0], or you can start with a bigger model and then train your smaller/adhoc one when you have some data (it doesn't even take much for most applications, you can get about 95% accuracy on email classification with 50-100 examples)
0: http://jeffyclassify.com/blog/when-llms-fail-at-classificati...
I agree with the OP; this technology does not seem an appropriate fit for survival equipment. By definition survival scenarios can be life and death. Even one "You're absolutely right!" level mistake from an LLM could give a user bad information, leading to John Doe eating a mushroom he really should not have eaten.
I agree with your point, but if John Doe is foraging mushrooms without experience of the local flora (which I doubt this archive contains), then John Doe is kinda asking for it.
The bigger issue in this context would be canning, such as incorrectly explaining the mechanisms to avoid botulism (acid and/or pressure canning), or perhaps incorrectly wiring in repairs. However, again, it’s best to practice with these prior to emergencies anyway.
It should be noted though, that the model does source its claims, so you can fact check it and should review this information regularly.
Slight OT Survival tip, if you are starving don't go for mushrooms in the first place (unless you really, really know) - even if you get the right one, they don't contain much energy for you to burn anyway. The larves you often found in them, probably contain more. So mushrooms are a nice addition (and in rare cases good medicine), but for survival you should focus on something else.