Skip to main content

Gemini LLM, an increase in benefits, and risks.

 


Gemini LLM is being developed by Google Brain and Deepmind that was introduced at Google I/O 2023, and is expected to have a trillion parameters, like GPT-4. The project is using tens of thousands of Google's TPU AI chips for training, and could take months to complete. It may be introduced early next year.

Gemini is being trained on a massive dataset of text, audio, video, images, and other media. This will allow it to 'understand' and respond to a wider range of input than previous LLMs. It will also be able to use other tools and APIs, which will make it more versatile and powerful. It's clearly looking to compete with a future GPT-5, this time Google are looking to get ahead of the curve.

Training Gemini in a multimodal manner is significant because it allows the model to learn from a wider range of data. This should improve the model's accuracy and performance on a variety of tasks.

For example, if Gemini is trained on both text and images, it can learn to associate certain words with certain images. This can be helpful for tasks such as image captioning, where the model is given an image and asked to generate a text description of it.

Similarly, if Gemini is trained on both text and audio, it can learn to associate certain words with certain sounds. This can be helpful for tasks such as speech recognition, where the model is given an audio recording and asked to transcribe it into text.

By training Gemini in a multimodal manner, Google is able to create a model that is more powerful and versatile than previous models. This could lead to new and innovative applications for AI, such as virtual assistants that can understand and respond to both text and voice commands.

Benefits of training Gemini in a multimodal manner include:

  • Increased accuracy: Multimodal models can learn from a wider range of data, which can lead to increased accuracy on a variety of tasks.
  • Improved performance: Multimodal models can often perform tasks faster and more efficiently than unimodal models.
  • Increased versatility: Multimodal models can be used for a wider range of tasks, which can make them more valuable to businesses and consumers.

The risks of bias, misinformation, privacy, and security are more appropriate to a multimodal LLM than a current non-multimodal LLM because multimodal LLMs are trained on a wider range of data. This means that they are more likely to be exposed to biases and misinformation, and they are also more likely to collect and analyse personal data. Additionally, multimodal LLMs are more complex than non-multimodal LLMs, which makes them more susceptible to security vulnerabilities.

  • Bias: Multimodal LLMs are trained on massive datasets of data, which can contain biases. These biases can be reflected in the output of the model, leading to discrimination or other harmful outcomes. For example, a multimodal LLM that is trained on a dataset of news articles may be biased towards certain political viewpoints. This could lead to the LLM generating text that is biased towards those viewpoints.
  • Misinformation: Multimodal LLMs can be used to generate text that is misleading or false. This could be used to spread misinformation or propaganda. For example, a multimodal LLM could be used to generate fake news articles or social media posts. This could be used to influence public opinion or to damage the reputation of an individual or organization.
  • Privacy: Multimodal LLMs can be used to collect and analyze personal data. This data could be used to track people's movements, habits, and interests. For example, a multimodal LLM could be used to collect data from people's social media posts or from their online activity. This data could then be used to target people with advertising or to track their movements.
  • Security: Multimodal LLMs can be used to create malware or other malicious software. This software could be used to steal data, damage systems, or even cause physical harm. For example, a multimodal LLM could be used to create malware that can steal people's passwords or credit card numbers. This malware could then be used to commit identity theft or other crimes.
The questions remain of how aligned the next generation of LLMs will be. No doubt they will appear to be safer, we will not know though for some months after their release. The mass social experiment will continue, largely unabated.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Whispers in the Machine: Why Prompt Injection Remains a Persistent Threat to LLMs

 Large Language Models (LLMs) are rapidly transforming how we interact with technology, offering incredible potential for tasks ranging from content creation to complex analysis. However, as these powerful tools become more integrated into our lives, so too do the novel security challenges they present. Among these, prompt injection attacks stand out as a particularly persistent and evolving threat. These attacks, as one recent paper (Safety at Scale: A Comprehensive Survey of Large Model Safety https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.05206) highlights, involve subtly manipulating LLMs to deviate from their intended purpose, and the methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated. At its core, a prompt injection attack involves embedding a malicious instruction within an otherwise normal request, tricking the LLM into producing unintended – and potentially harmful – outputs. Think of it as slipping a secret, contradictory instruction into a seemingly harmless conversation. What makes prompt inj...

Podcast Soon Notice

I've been invited to make a podcast around the themes and ideas presented in this blog. More details will be announced soon. This is also your opportunity to be involved in the debate. If you have a response to any of the blog posts posted here, or consider an important issue in the debate around AGI is not being discussed, then please get in touch via the comments.  I look forward to hearing from you.

AI Agents and the Latest Silicon Valley Hype

In what appears to be yet another grandiose proclamation from the tech industry, Google has released a whitepaper extolling the virtues of what they're calling "Generative AI agents". (https://www.aibase.com/news/14498) Whilst the basic premise—distinguishing between AI models and agents—holds water, one must approach these sweeping claims with considerable caution. Let's begin with the fundamentals. Yes, AI models like Large Language Models do indeed process information and generate outputs. That much isn't controversial. However, the leap from these essentially sophisticated pattern-matching systems to autonomous "agents" requires rather more scrutiny than the tech evangelists would have us believe. The whitepaper's architectural approaches—with their rather grandiose names like "ReAct" and "Tree of Thought"—sound remarkably like repackaged versions of long-standing computer science concepts, dressed up in fashionable AI clot...