Identifying Benign Data that Inadvertently Degrades Safety in Large Language Models

Konsep Inti

Seemingly benign data can significantly degrade the safety of previously aligned large language models after fine-tuning, and our data-centric methods can effectively identify such harmful subsets of benign data.

Abstrak

The authors explore the phenomenon of benign fine-tuning data leading to degradation in the safety and alignment of large language models. They propose two model-aware approaches, representation matching and gradient matching, to identify subsets of benign data that are more likely to cause jailbreaking behaviors in the fine-tuned model.
The key findings are:

Fine-tuning on just 100 examples selected by the authors' methods can lead to a substantial increase in the model's attack success rate, from under 20% to over 70%, even exceeding the attack success rate after fine-tuning on an explicitly harmful dataset of the same size.

The selected benign data often exhibits patterns like lists, bullet points, and mathematical expressions, which the authors hypothesize are associated with eliciting jailbreaking behaviors.

The gradient-based selection approach is more consistent and transferable across datasets compared to the representation-based approach.

Fine-tuning on a specialized math dataset, while improving the model's math capabilities, also leads to a relatively high increase in harmfulness, highlighting the need for more systematic ways of selecting datasets that improve utility while retaining safety.

The authors provide valuable data-centric tools for examining the safety implications of benign fine-tuning data and raise awareness of the potential vulnerabilities in customizing language models for typical downstream tasks.

Statistik

Fine-tuning on just 100 selected benign examples can increase the GPT-evaluated Attack Success Rate (ASR) from under 20% to over 70% on the ALPACA dataset.
Fine-tuning on 100 selected benign examples can increase the GPT-evaluated ASR from 8.2% to 53.3% on the DOLLY dataset.
Random selection of math and list-formatted examples from the ALPACA dataset are more harmful than random selection from the diverse dataset.

Kutipan

"Fine-tuning on merely 100 selected benign examples—those most similar to known harmful data—can elevate the GPT-evaluated Attack Success Rate (ASR) from 13% to 71% compared to finetuning with a random subset of data in ALPACA and from 8.2% to 53.3% in DOLLY."
"The gradient-based selection approach is more consistent in selecting the most harmful subsets than the representation-based approach across datasets."
"Further examination of the selected data reveals that they primarily comprise of bullet point style answers or mathematical expressions."

Wawasan Utama Disaring Dari

What's in Your "Safe" Data?

by Luxi He,Meng... pada arxiv.org 04-02-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.01099.pdf

Pertanyaan yang Lebih Dalam

How can the insights from this data-centric approach be leveraged to develop more robust fine-tuning techniques that maintain safety while improving model capabilities?

The insights gained from this data-centric approach provide a valuable framework for developing more robust fine-tuning techniques that balance safety and model capabilities. By identifying subsets of seemingly benign data that can lead to safety degradation, we can implement targeted strategies to mitigate these risks. One approach is to incorporate a more comprehensive set of safety anchors during data selection, ensuring that the fine-tuning process considers a broader range of potential harmful data patterns. This can help in identifying and filtering out data points that are more likely to compromise safety.
Furthermore, leveraging both representation and gradient-based methods for data selection can provide a more holistic view of the potential risks associated with fine-tuning. By combining these approaches, we can identify data characteristics that are consistently associated with safety degradation and prioritize the removal or modification of such data during the fine-tuning process. This can help in developing more robust fine-tuning techniques that proactively address safety concerns.
Additionally, the insights from this approach can inform the development of automated tools or algorithms that continuously monitor and evaluate the safety implications of fine-tuning on different datasets. By integrating these tools into the fine-tuning pipeline, researchers and practitioners can ensure that safety considerations are consistently addressed throughout the model customization process, leading to more reliable and secure models.

How can these insights be leveraged to develop more robust fine-tuning techniques that maintain safety while improving model capabilities?

The insights from this data-centric approach can be leveraged to develop more robust fine-tuning techniques by expanding the scope of data characteristics considered during the selection process. While lists and math expressions have been identified as potential indicators of safety degradation, other data characteristics may also play a role in influencing model behavior. By systematically analyzing a wider range of data features, such as language patterns, context dependencies, or sentiment cues, we can identify additional red flags that signal potential safety risks during fine-tuning.
To systematically identify these data characteristics, researchers can employ advanced natural language processing techniques, such as sentiment analysis, topic modeling, or contextual embedding analysis. By extracting and analyzing these features from the training data, researchers can create a comprehensive profile of the dataset and identify patterns that may lead to safety degradation. This systematic approach can help in developing more nuanced data selection criteria that prioritize safety while optimizing for model capabilities.
Furthermore, leveraging machine learning algorithms, such as anomaly detection or adversarial testing, can help in automatically flagging potential safety risks during the fine-tuning process. By integrating these algorithms into the data selection pipeline, researchers can proactively identify and address safety concerns, ensuring that the fine-tuning process maintains a high level of safety while enhancing model capabilities.

Given the potential risks of fine-tuning on specialized datasets like math problems, how can we design data selection and fine-tuning procedures that optimize for both utility and safety in a principled manner?

Designing data selection and fine-tuning procedures that optimize for both utility and safety requires a principled approach that balances the need for model improvement with the imperative of maintaining safety standards. One key strategy is to establish clear guidelines and criteria for data selection, focusing on identifying data points that enhance model capabilities while minimizing safety risks. This can involve setting thresholds for acceptable levels of risk and ensuring that selected data align with these criteria.
To optimize for both utility and safety, researchers can implement a multi-stage data selection process that incorporates diverse datasets and safety anchors. By diversifying the training data and including a mix of benign, harmful, and specialized datasets like math problems, researchers can create a balanced training set that enhances model capabilities while mitigating safety risks. Additionally, leveraging advanced data analysis techniques, such as outlier detection or data augmentation, can help in identifying and addressing potential safety concerns in specialized datasets.
Moreover, integrating safety evaluation metrics into the fine-tuning process can provide real-time feedback on the impact of data selection on model safety. By continuously monitoring model behavior and performance during fine-tuning, researchers can proactively identify and address safety issues, ensuring that the model remains aligned with safety standards while improving its capabilities. This iterative approach to data selection and fine-tuning can help in optimizing for both utility and safety in a principled and systematic manner.