Building Domain-Specific Custom LLM

Models: Harnessing the Power of Open

Source Foundation Models
 May 20, 2023

Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by Editorial Team

Author(s): Sriram Parthasarathy

The transformative potential of training large LLMs with domain-specific data.

With AI on a private cloud, organizations can ensure that everything, including custom Language
Models (LLMs), remains within their secure cloud environment, preserving data privacy and
allowing for complete control over their proprietary models and sensitive information.
Organizations are undergoing a significant shift by actively looking into the
development of their own custom large language models (LLMs) to address the
increasing demand for greater control, data privacy, and cost-effective solutions. This
paradigm shift is driven by the recognition of the transformative potential held by
smaller, custom-trained models that leverage domain-specific data. These models
surpass the performance of broad-spectrum models like GPT-3.5, which serves as the
foundation for ChatGPT. Adding momentum to this shift, the release of several open-
source, commercially viable foundation models has provided organizations with a
monumental opportunity to empower themselves with tailored, high-performing
language models that precisely cater to their unique requirements. This new era of
custom LLMs marks a significant milestone in the quest for more customizable and
efficient language processing solutions.

Challenges of building custom LLMs

Building custom Large Language Models (LLMs) presents an array of challenges to
organizations that can be broadly categorized under data, technical, ethical, and
resource-related issues.
Challenges in building custom LLMs include architecture selection, data quality, bias mitigation,
content moderation, resource management, and expertise.

1. Data Challenges
When developing custom Language Models (LLMs), organizations face challenges
related to data collection and quality, as well as data privacy and security. Acquiring a
significant volume of domain-specific data can be challenging, especially if the data
is niche or sensitive. Ensuring data quality during collection is also important.
Additionally, organizations must address privacy and security concerns when training
models using proprietary or sensitive data by implementing measures to de-identify
data and safeguard it during training and deployment.

2. Technical Challenges
Building a custom Language Model (LLM) involves challenges related to model
architecture, training, evaluation, and validation. Choosing the appropriate
architecture and parameters requires expertise, and training custom LLMs demands
advanced machine-learning skills. Evaluating the performance of these models is
complex due to the absence of established benchmarks for domain-specific tasks.
Validating the model’s responses for accuracy, safety, and compliance poses
additional challenges.

3. Ethical Challenges
When building custom Language Models (LLMs), it is crucial to address challenges
related to bias and fairness, as well as content moderation and safety. LLMs may
unintentionally learn and perpetuate biases from training data, necessitating careful
auditing and mitigation strategies. Ensuring the prevention of inappropriate or
harmful content generated by custom LLMs poses significant challenges, requiring
the implementation of robust content moderation mechanisms.

4. Resource Challenges
Building custom Language Models (LLMs) presents challenges related to
computational resources and expertise. Training LLMs require significant
computational resources, which can be costly and may not be easily accessible to all
organizations. Developing custom LLMs also necessitates a team with expertise
in machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and software engineering,
which can be challenging to find and retain, adding to the complexity and cost of the
process.

While these challenges can be significant, they are not insurmountable. With the right
planning, resources, and expertise, organizations can successfully develop and deploy
custom LLMs to meet their specific needs. As open-source commercially viable
foundation models are starting to appear in the market, the trend to build out domain-
specific LLMs using these open-source foundation models will heat up.
Open-Source Foundation Language Models:
Transparency, Customization, and Collaborative
Development
The rise of open-source and commercially viable foundation models has led
organizations to look at building domain-specific models. Open-source Language
Models (LLMs) provide accessibility, transparency, customization options,
collaborative development, learning opportunities, cost-efficiency,
and community support. For example, a manufacturing company can leverage open-
source foundation models to build a domain-specific LLM that optimizes production
processes, predicts maintenance needs, and improves quality control. By customizing
the model with their proprietary data and algorithms, the company can enhance
efficiency, reduce costs, and drive innovation in their manufacturing operations. This
customization, along with collaborative development and community support,
empowers organizations to look at building domain-specific LLMs that address
industry challenges and drive innovation.

AI can be used to identify and mitigate risks in production processes, leading to improved safety,
quality, and efficiency.
The next section discusses the benefits and the potential of using open-source
foundation models for building custom domain-specific LLMs

The Allure of Control

Adopting custom LLMs offers organizations unparalleled control over the behaviour,
functionality, and performance of the model. For example, a financial institution that
wants to develop a customer service chatbot can benefit from adopting a custom
LLM. By creating its own language model specifically trained on financial data and
industry-specific terminology, the institution gains exceptional control over the
behavior and functionality of the chatbot. They can fine-tune the model to provide
accurate and relevant responses to customer inquiries, ensuring compliance with
financial regulations and maintaining the desired tone and style. This level of control
allows the organization to create a tailored customer experience that aligns precisely
with their business needs and enhances customer satisfaction.

AI-powered chatbots can be used to provide 24/7 customer service, answer questions, and resolve
issues, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex tasks.

Prioritizing Data Privacy

Data privacy is a fundamental concern for today’s organizations, especially when
handling sensitive or proprietary information. For instance, a healthcare provider
aiming to develop a medical diagnosis assistant can prioritize data privacy by utilizing
a custom LLM.
With AI on a private cloud, organizations can ensure that everything, including custom Language
Models (LLMs), remains within their secure cloud environment, preserving data privacy and
allowing for complete control over their proprietary models and sensitive information.
By training the model on their own de-identified patient data, the healthcare provider
ensures that sensitive information remains secure within their organization. This
approach mitigates the risks associated with sharing patient data with third-party
models and reduces the potential for data breaches or unauthorized access. By
maintaining full control over their data, the healthcare provider can adhere to strict
privacy regulations, safeguard patient confidentiality, and uphold their commitment to
data privacy and security.
By leveraging a custom LLM, a healthcare provider focusing on developing a medical diagnosis
assistant can prioritize data privacy and confidentiality, ensuring secure handling and protection of
sensitive patient information.

The Economic Advantage

While broad-scale models such as GPT-3.5 boast impressive capabilities, they often
carry significant costs. For example, a retail e-commerce company seeking to improve
its product recommendation system can leverage the economic advantage of custom
LLMs. Rather than relying on a large-scale model like GPT-3.5, which may come
with substantial costs, the company can develop a custom LLM specifically trained on
its own transactional and customer data. This targeted approach allows the company
to optimize resource allocation by focusing on the most relevant data for product
recommendations. By building a smaller, cost-effective custom LLM, the company
can achieve comparable or even superior performance while significantly reducing the
financial burden associated with training and deploying a generic model.

AI-powered personalized recommendations are revolutionizing the eCommerce industry,

enhancing customer experiences by leveraging advanced algorithms to deliver tailored product
suggestions based on individual preferences and behavior.

The Edge of Domain-Specificity

Organizations are recognizing that custom LLMs, trained on their unique domain-
specific data, often outperform larger, more generalized models. For instance, a legal
research firm seeking to improve its document analysis capabilities can benefit from
the edge of domain-specificity provided by a custom LLM. By training the model on
a vast collection of legal documents, case law, and legal terminology, the firm can
create a language model that excels in understanding the intricacies of legal language
and context. This domain-specific expertise allows the model to provide a more
accurate and nuanced analysis of legal documents, aiding lawyers in their research
and decision-making processes.

The intersection of legal and AI is revolutionizing the legal industry by enabling efficient legal
research, contract analysis, and predictive analytics, transforming the way legal professionals
work and deliver services

The Roadmap to Custom LLMs

The journey toward custom LLMs involves a number of steps, including the
collection and curation of domain-specific data, the selection of suitable architectures,
and the utilization of cutting-edge model training techniques. Organizations can tap
into open-source tools and frameworks to streamline the creation of their custom
models. This journey paves the way for organizations to harness the power of
language models perfectly tailored to their unique needs and objectives.

Wrapping Up
The increasing emphasis on control, data privacy, and cost-effectiveness is driving a
notable rise in the interest in building of custom language models by organizations.
By embracing domain-specific models, organizations can unlock a wide range of
advantages, such as improved performance, personalized responses, and streamlined
operations. This shift signifies a departure from relying solely on generic models,
ushering in a new era where organizations harness the potential of custom LLMs to
drive innovation, address industry-specific challenges, and gain a competitive edge in
the dynamic realm of natural language processing.

Through the utilization of advanced technologies and data-driven insights, healthcare providers
can optimize patient care, reduce errors, and achieve significant improvements in overall
healthcare outcomes.
For example, one potential future outcome of this trend could be seen in the
healthcare industry. With the deployment of custom LLMs trained on vast amounts of
patient data, medical institutions could revolutionize clinical decision support
systems. These custom models would possess a deep understanding of medical
terminologies, procedures, and patient histories, enabling them to optimize patient
care, minimize errors, and significantly improve overall healthcare outcomes.

Published via Towards AI