September 4, 2023

Why LLMs hallucinate, and how can you deal with it?

Blog / Why LLMs hallucinate, and how can you deal with it?

The rapid advancement in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has given rise to Large Language Models (LLMs). However, these models sometimes generate output referred to as hallucinations - results that don't make sense or are far from truth. Understanding this problematic aspect of LLMs is crucial for people working in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies, as it significantly affects their operations and the daily lives of their users.

Spotting LLM hallucinations

Interactions with an LLM can sometimes yield nonsensical responses - a hallmark of LLM hallucinations. These results can vary from self-contradictory sentences to random text that is off-topic. We highly advise SaaS companies to stay vigilant for such red flags since these hallucinations can provide unreliable or even false information to users, leading to misinformed decisions.

Reasons behind LLM hallucinations

LLMs do not possess consciousness. They function like diligent students who perform as well as their instruction and learning materials. Occasionally, these learning resources may contain incomplete or convoluted information, resulting in imperfect knowledge acquisition. Additionally, just as humans may demonstrate biases, so can LLMs, reflecting the biases inadvertently introduced during training. Therefore, understanding these issues is essential for SaaS employees to optimally utilise the LLMs.

The impact of hallucinations

The implications of an LLM delivering hallucinations are far from innocuous. They can potentially misguide users, damage the company's reputation, render AI systems unreliable, and spread disinformation.

Internal work in SaaS and hallucinations

It's crucial to remember a few points when working with an LLM. Firstly, ensure to ask it incisive questions, and scrutinize its answers vigilantly. Every response from an LLM is influenced by tokens, language elements that it uses for response generation. Therefore, understanding these can shine a light on its responses. Trusting the LLM outcomes blindly is inadvisable; always cross-check for confirmation.

Counteracting LLM hallucinations in SaaS products

Safety is most important. Proactively include protective measures in your SaaS products, balanced with the LLM’s creative freedom. The key is to remain thoughtful about your product's areas of operation and how AI integrates into your customer facing workflows.

Curbing LLM hallucinations

Several strategies can ameliorate the incidence of LLM hallucinations. These include careful preparation and control of input, optimal management of model settings, and routine monitoring for prompt drift. Enrich your input data as much as possible and use the model to verify and cross-check the results. Lowering the model temperature setting and asking for sources and citations can also be beneficial. Lastly, continual refinement of the models and understanding their limitations are key to their efficient use.

Mateusz Drozd
Author
Guide
How To Write a Book Using GPT-4

Discover how AI can streamline your writing process and overcome writer's block

AI guides and books

Analysis
Can GPT-4 win at Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?

Learn how family of GPT models compares when asked questions from the popular show