Prompt Programming for Large Language Models: Beyond the Few-Shot Paradigm
Authors: Laria Reynolds, Kyle McDonell
AI-generated Key Points
- The paper explores the theory of prompt programming for large generative language models, with a focus on natural language prompts.
- GPT-3 is used as a case study to demonstrate that 0-shot prompts can outperform few-shot prompts.
- The function of few-shot examples is better described as locating an already learned task rather than meta-learning.
- The authors discuss methods of prompt programming, emphasizing the usefulness of considering prompts through the lens of natural language.
- Techniques for exploiting narratives and cultural anchors to encode nuanced intentions are explored.
- A metaprompt idea is introduced that seeds the model to generate its own natural language prompts for a range of tasks.
- Directions for future work in prompt programming include disentangling meta-learning and task location, developing new benchmarking methods, and creating effective meta-prompt templates for large-scale automated evaluations on closed-ended questions while enabling open-ended reasoning beyond simple fact recall.
- Prompt programming is an emerging field requiring interdisciplinary knowledge and methods with potential to become its own discipline.
Abstract: Prevailing methods for mapping large generative language models to supervised tasks may fail to sufficiently probe models' novel capabilities. Using GPT-3 as a case study, we show that 0-shot prompts can significantly outperform few-shot prompts. We suggest that the function of few-shot examples in these cases is better described as locating an already learned task rather than meta-learning. This analysis motivates rethinking the role of prompts in controlling and evaluating powerful language models. In this work, we discuss methods of prompt programming, emphasizing the usefulness of considering prompts through the lens of natural language. We explore techniques for exploiting the capacity of narratives and cultural anchors to encode nuanced intentions and techniques for encouraging deconstruction of a problem into components before producing a verdict. Informed by this more encompassing theory of prompt programming, we also introduce the idea of a metaprompt that seeds the model to generate its own natural language prompts for a range of tasks. Finally, we discuss how these more general methods of interacting with language models can be incorporated into existing and future benchmarks and practical applications.
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