#241 Getting Generative AI Into Production with Lin Qiao, CEO and Co-Founder of Fireworks AI
Sep 5, 2024
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Lin Qiao, the CEO and Co-Founder of Fireworks AI, previously held significant roles at Meta and LinkedIn. She shares insights on transforming generative AI ideas into real-world applications. The discussion highlights the importance of fine-tuning models, selecting the right model sizes, and understanding cost implications. Lin also emphasizes collaboration between technical teams and product managers for successful AI deployment. The podcast concludes with exciting predictions for generative AI's future and its potential across various industries.
Experimentation and careful problem framing are essential for effectively transitioning generative AI models from prototypes to production environments.
Fine-tuning large language models requires clear evaluation metrics and collaboration between product managers and machine learning engineers to meet organizational objectives.
Deep dives
The Importance of Experimentation in AI
Experimentation is crucial in the development and implementation of AI, particularly in framing the problems that need solving. The way a problem is framed directly influences the choice of technology and models integrated into an AI solution. As generative AI applications move from prototypes to production, organizations face challenges in maintaining performance and managing costs effectively. Achieving a balance between customer satisfaction and financial viability is essential in this rapidly evolving landscape.
Diverse Applications of Generative AI
Generative AI is being applied in various sectors, including healthcare, education, and legal support, with innovative solutions emerging to address specific industry challenges. For example, medical assistants are enhancing productivity in response to workforce shortages, while educational tools cater to diverse learning needs. Furthermore, legal applications are improving efficiency for lawyers by aiding in case studies and research. These examples highlight the versatility and impact generative AI can have across multiple domains.
Transitioning to Production-Ready AI Models
Transitioning generative AI models into production involves several critical steps, beginning with clearly defining application goals and understanding the differences between using CPUs and GPUs. Unlike traditional applications, generative AI often requires handling large, complex models, necessitating careful management of latency and cost. Developers must embrace new methods, such as probabilistic reasoning, while minimizing issues like hallucination that can occur when the model generates incorrect outputs. Addressing these unique challenges is essential for creating reliable and scalable generative AI applications.
Fine-Tuning for Optimal Performance
Fine-tuning a large language model is vital for aligning it with specific organizational objectives and improving the quality of its outputs. The process begins with establishing clear evaluation metrics and identifying the areas where the model may falter before collecting data for fine-tuning. By employing methods like supervised fine-tuning and preference-based tuning, organizations can enhance model performance effectively. This collaborative approach, which includes product managers and machine learning engineers working together, ensures that models are closely aligned with the intended use case.
Lot’s of AI use-cases can start with big ideas and exciting possibilities, but turning those ideas into real results is where the challenge lies. How do you take a powerful model and make it work effectively in a specific business context? What steps are necessary to fine-tune and optimize your AI tools to deliver both performance and cost efficiency? And as AI continues to evolve, how do you stay ahead of the curve while ensuring that your solutions are scalable and sustainable?
Lin Qiao is the CEO and Co-Founder of Fireworks AI. She previously worked at Meta as a Senior Director of Engineering and as head of Meta's PyTorch, served as a Tech Lead at Linkedin, and worked as a Researcher and Software Engineer at IBM.
In the episode, Richie and Lin explore generative AI use cases, getting AI into products, foundational models, the effort required and benefits of fine-tuning models, trade-offs between models sizes, use cases for smaller models, cost-effective AI deployment, the infrastructure and team required for AI product development, metrics for AI success, open vs closed-source models, excitement for the future of AI development and much more.