#8 – Sara Hooker: Big AI, The Compute Frenzy, and Grumpy Models
Aug 5, 2024
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Sara Hooker, VP of Research at Cohere and a recognized AI innovator, shares insights on scaling laws and their limits, emphasizing how smaller models can outperform larger ones. She discusses the balance between open-source and proprietary models, highlighting the need for inclusivity, particularly for multilingual capabilities. Sara also tackles data accessibility challenges and copyright issues affecting AI training, and reflects on how her diverse upbringing informs her approach to innovative research practices. Expect a thought-provoking conversation on AI's future!
Scaling laws in AI are complex, revealing that model performance often depends more on optimization choices and data quality than on sheer computational power.
Openness in AI research enhances innovation and multilingual advancements, highlighting the importance of collaboration and diverse input for optimal solutions.
Deep dives
Scaling Laws and Their Complexities
The relationship between compute capacity and AI performance is nuanced, challenging the common belief that increasing size and complexity of models automatically leads to better outcomes. Recent discussions highlight instances where smaller models have outperformed larger counterparts, such as an 8 billion parameter model outperforming a 176 billion parameter model. This suggests that optimization choices and the quality of data may play a more crucial role in model performance than sheer computational power. Thus, it becomes apparent that scaling laws may not be as straightforward or linear as initially perceived, requiring a deeper understanding of their implications in AI development.
The Role of Data Quality in AI Efficiency
Improving data quality significantly influences the training efficiency of AI models, often reducing the reliance on extensive compute resources. Investing in high-quality data can lead to more effective models, as high-quality training datasets allow models to learn specific tasks with less computational overhead. This shift emphasizes the importance of data-driven strategies rather than solely focusing on scaling model size. In particular, the recent findings suggest that models trained on high-quality, domain-specific datasets can achieve superior results with fewer parameters, confirming the pivotal role data plays in developing robust AI systems.
Optimization Breakthroughs Transforming AI Development
Optimization breakthroughs have the potential to offset the need for increased compute power in AI, transforming how models are trained and utilized. Successful examples, such as the instruction tuning used in models like ChatGPT, demonstrate that effective data restructuring and fine-tuning strategies can lead to significant performance improvements without extensive resource usage. This observation calls into question the traditional focus on scaling compute as the primary method of enhancing AI performance. As AI continues to evolve, the challenge lies in balancing optimization advancements with the ongoing scaling of computational capabilities.
The Need for Openness and Collaboration in AI
The commitment to openness in AI research, as exemplified by the development of the AYA model, is crucial for fostering innovation and accelerating multilingual advancements in the field. AYA was developed through collaboration with a global research community, emphasizing that diversity in input leads to more comprehensive solutions. The dual approach of maintaining both open-source and proprietary models allows for flexibility in advancing research while still generating commercial viability. This openness is vital for ensuring that AI technologies are not only accessible but also broaden the horizons of what is achievable through collective effort in diverse environments.
My guest today is Sara Hooker, VP of Research at Cohere, where she leads Cohere for AI, a non-profit research lab that seeks to solve complex machine learning problems with researchers from over 100 countries. Sara is the author of numerous research papers, some of which focus specifically on scaling theory in AI. She has been listed as one of AI’s top 13 innovators by Fortune.
In our conversation, we first delve into the scaling laws behind foundation models. We explore what powers the scaling of AI systems and the limits to scaling laws. We then move on to discussing openness in AI, Cohere’s business strategy, the power of ecosystems, the importance of building multilingual LLMs, and the recent change in terms of access to data in the space. I hope you enjoy our conversation.