I know large language models, LLMs as they are called in AI circles, are all the rage these days. But lately, I’ve been thinking of SLMs — small language models.
Not that I’m the first one to think small in this way. For example, when people are angry with each other, they prefer to speak in SLMs.
Exhibit A: The husband has a mere twitch of the lips when the wifey stops him right there. “Shut up! Don’t say a word!” [I wanted to flip the gender stereotype here and wanted the hubby to be saying the shut-up command, but something told me it wouldn’t fly, so I shut that thought out.]
SLMs are especially popular with other (often better) animals than humans. A coo-oo, clack-clack or screech often does the job better than voluminous human speech.
And then, sometimes, the smallness of some models becomes so infinitesimally small that no words — and hence no language, not to speak of models — are required at all.
A sharp look in someone’s direction, a press of the hand on a shoulder that needs pressing in a certain way, or a shared moment in silence is all that is needed.
Sometimes I wonder what’s going to happen with so many towers of LLM babble being created and business models being built on top (models atop models, huh?) We might even be drowning in a frothy alphabet soup without digesting a single letter.
And just as I was going on further with this post, a voice hit out at me from somewhere: “Time to shut up now!” (Thankfully, it’s my own goddamn brain and not a Neuralink implant freaking out.)
I looked at my analog watch and felt happy to see the second hand moving, regardless of what’s going on in the world.
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