Aligning Large Language Models via Joint Preference Optimization

Core Concepts

Acquiring preferences jointly over instruction-response pairs can significantly enhance the alignment of large language models by tapping into a broader spectrum of human preference elicitation.

Abstract

The content discusses a new approach for aligning large language models (LLMs) by acquiring preferences jointly over instruction-response pairs, rather than the traditional conditional ranking-based approach.
Key highlights:

The traditional conditional ranking-based approach for preference acquisition only leverages pairwise comparisons when the generations are placed in an identical context, failing to capture the complex and multidimensional aspects of human preferences.
The authors propose a new joint preference acquisition protocol where the annotator assigns rankings jointly over the instruction-response pairs, allowing them to reason about the adherence to instructions, grammatical fluency, clarity, and other dimensions.
The authors introduce DOVE, a new preference optimization objective that upweights the joint probability of the chosen instruction-response pair over the rejected instruction-response pair.
Experiments show that the DOVE-aligned LLM outperforms the supervised finetuned LLM and the DPO-aligned LLM on summarization and open-ended dialogue datasets, indicating that joint preferences can significantly enhance LLM alignment.
The authors also find that the joint preferences over non-identical instructions alone can effectively align the LLM, without requiring conditional preferences.

Stats

The content does not provide any specific numerical data or metrics. However, it mentions that the authors conduct experiments on the TL;DR summarization dataset and the Anthropic-Helpful open-ended dialogue dataset.

Quotes

"Acquiring preferences jointly over instruction-response pairs can significantly enhance the alignment of large language models by tapping into a broader spectrum of human preference elicitation."
"We find that the DOVE-aligned LLM outperforms the supervised finetuned LLM and the DPO-aligned LLM on summarization and open-ended dialogue datasets, indicating that joint preferences can significantly enhance LLM alignment."
"We also find that the joint preferences over non-identical instructions alone can effectively align the LLM, without requiring conditional preferences."

Key Insights Distilled From

Comparing Bad Apples to Good Oranges

by Hritik Bansa... at arxiv.org 04-02-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.00530.pdf

Deeper Inquiries

How can the joint preference acquisition protocol be extended to handle more complex and diverse instruction-response pairs, such as those involving multimodal inputs or outputs?

In order to extend the joint preference acquisition protocol to handle more complex and diverse instruction-response pairs, especially those involving multimodal inputs or outputs, several key considerations need to be taken into account:

Multimodal Inputs: When dealing with instruction-response pairs that involve multimodal inputs (e.g., text, images, audio), the joint preference acquisition protocol can be extended to incorporate feedback from annotators on the quality and relevance of each modality in the response. Annotators can provide preferences based on how well the response captures the essence of the multimodal input.

Diverse Outputs: For instruction-response pairs with diverse outputs, the joint preference acquisition protocol can be adapted to allow annotators to compare responses based on different criteria such as creativity, relevance, accuracy, and coherence. Annotators can provide preferences considering the overall quality and effectiveness of the response in addressing the instruction.

Scalability: To handle a larger and more diverse set of instruction-response pairs, the joint preference acquisition protocol can leverage automated tools and algorithms to streamline the feedback collection process. This can involve using AI models to assist in generating pairwise comparisons or aggregating feedback from multiple annotators efficiently.

Contextual Understanding: Incorporating contextual understanding into the joint preference acquisition protocol is crucial for handling complex instruction-response pairs. Annotators can be guided to evaluate responses based on the context provided in the instruction, ensuring that the preferences are aligned with the intended meaning and purpose.

By incorporating these considerations and adapting the joint preference acquisition protocol to accommodate the complexities of multimodal inputs and diverse outputs, researchers can enhance the robustness and effectiveness of the feedback collection process for a wide range of instruction-response pairs.

How can the potential limitations or biases that may arise in the joint preference acquisition process be mitigated?

In the joint preference acquisition process, several limitations and biases may arise, impacting the quality and reliability of the collected feedback. To mitigate these issues, the following strategies can be implemented:

Diverse Annotator Pool: To address potential biases, it is essential to have a diverse pool of annotators with varied backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise. This helps in capturing a wide range of preferences and reducing individual biases that may skew the feedback.

Clear Guidelines and Training: Providing clear guidelines and training to annotators on how to evaluate instruction-response pairs can help standardize the feedback collection process. This ensures that annotators have a common understanding of the criteria for assessing responses and reduces subjective biases.

Randomization and Balancing: Randomizing the order of presentation of instruction-response pairs and balancing the distribution of different types of pairs can help minimize order effects and ensure that each pair receives fair consideration from annotators.

Quality Control and Validation: Implementing quality control measures such as inter-annotator agreement checks, validation tasks, and periodic reviews of annotator feedback can help identify and address inconsistencies or biases in the collected preferences.

Transparency and Accountability: Maintaining transparency in the feedback collection process, including disclosing the guidelines followed and the criteria used for evaluation, can enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of the acquired preferences.

By implementing these strategies and actively monitoring the feedback collection process, researchers can mitigate potential limitations and biases in the joint preference acquisition process, leading to more reliable and informative feedback for LLM alignment.

How can the insights from the interplay between conditional and joint preferences be leveraged to develop more robust and generalizable LLM alignment techniques?

The insights gained from the interplay between conditional and joint preferences can be leveraged to enhance the development of more robust and generalizable LLM alignment techniques in the following ways:

Hybrid Feedback Integration: By combining feedback from both conditional and joint preferences, LLM alignment techniques can leverage the strengths of each approach. This hybrid feedback integration can provide a more comprehensive understanding of human preferences and improve the alignment process.

Adaptive Learning Models: Insights from the interplay between different preference acquisition protocols can inform the design of adaptive learning models that can dynamically adjust their training based on the type of feedback received. This adaptability can lead to more flexible and effective LLM alignment techniques.

Multi-Criteria Evaluation: Understanding how annotators reason and make decisions based on different criteria in conditional and joint preferences can enable the development of multi-criteria evaluation frameworks for LLM alignment. This approach can capture diverse aspects of human preferences and enhance the alignment quality.

Context-Aware Alignment: Leveraging insights on how annotators consider context in their preference decisions, LLM alignment techniques can be designed to be more context-aware. This context sensitivity can improve the relevance and accuracy of the generated responses.

Continuous Improvement: By analyzing the interplay between conditional and joint preferences, LLM alignment techniques can be iteratively refined and improved over time. This continuous learning process can lead to the development of more effective and adaptive alignment strategies.

Overall, by leveraging the insights from the interplay between conditional and joint preferences, researchers can innovate and optimize LLM alignment techniques to achieve higher performance, robustness, and generalizability in various real-world applications.