We're All Finetuning Incorrectly // Tanmay Chopra // #304

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Apr 8, 2025

Tanmay Chopra, CEO of Emissary and a machine learning expert, dives into the future of finetuning in AI. He challenges the notion that traditional finetuning is obsolete, revealing new methods that truly optimize models. The conversation covers the role of AI in both expert and novice settings, the shift back to simpler solutions, and how no-code tools are revolutionizing development. Tanmay also highlights the critical importance of localization in advertising, emphasizing small adjustments that yield big cultural impacts.

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INSIGHT

Potential vs. Reality of LLMs

Large language models (LLMs) have vast potential, but AI products often underutilize it.
This discrepancy between potential and real-world application is a current challenge.

ANECDOTE

Apps vs. Agents

Demetrius discussed a conversation where someone predicted apps would be replaced by agents.
He expressed skepticism, citing the efficiency and familiarity of existing software like DaVinci Resolve.

INSIGHT

AI Roles: Supervisor vs. Assistant

Tanmay Chopra distinguishes between AI as a supervisor for novice users and AI as an assistant for experts.
Experts prioritize repeatability and accuracy, while novices value learning through AI's failures.

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We're All Finetuning Incorrectly // MLOps Podcast #304 with Tanmay Chopra, Founder & CEO of Emissary.

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// Abstract

Finetuning is dead. Finetuning is only for style. We've all heard these claims. But the truth is we feel this way because all we've been doing is extended pretraining. I'm excited to chat about what real finetuning looks like - modifying output heads, loss functions and model layers, and it's implications on quality and latency. Happy to dive deeper into how DeepSeek leveraged this real version of finetuning through GRPO and how this is nothing more than a rediscovery of our old finetuning ways. I'm sure we'll naturally also dive into when developing and deploying your specialized models makes sense and the challenges you face when doing so.

// Bio

Tanmay is a machine learning engineer at Neeva, where he's currently engaged in reimagining the search experience through AI - wrangling with LLMs and building cold-start recommendation systems. Previously, Tanmay worked on TikTok's Global Trust&Safety Algorithms team - spearheading the development of AI technologies to counter violent extremism and graphic violence on the platform across 160+ countries.Tanmay has a bachelor's and master's in Computer Science from Columbia University, with a specialization in machine learning.

Tanmay is deeply passionate about communicating science and technology to those outside its realm. He's previously written about LLMs for TechCrunch, held workshops across India on the art of science communication for high school and college students, and is the author of Black Holes, Big Bang and a Load of Salt - a labor of love that elucidated the oft-overlooked contributions of Indian scientists to modern science and helped everyday people understand some of the most complex scientific developments of the past century without breaking into a sweat!

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~~~~~~~~ ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ~~~~~~~Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://go.mlops.community/TYExploreJoin our slack community [https://go.mlops.community/slack]Follow us on X/Twitter [@mlopscommunity](https://x.com/mlopscommunity) or [LinkedIn](https://go.mlops.community/linkedin)] Sign up for the next meetup: [https://go.mlops.community/register]MLOps Swag/Merch: [https://shop.mlops.community/]Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: /dpbrinkmConnect with Tanmay on LinkedIn: /tanmayc98