Riding the LLM Hype Wave

I'd be lying if I said there wasn't hype around LLMs. Of course, the emergence of ChatGPT has propelled LLMs into the spotlight. Today, even people outside of data science know what an LLM is or at least know the name and associate it with ChatGPT or similar services.

For my part, having a background in NLP (natural language processing), it was very natural for me to switch to LLMs. And I clearly saw a rupture after ChatGPT.

Hype isn't necessarily a negative phenomenon in itself. It's annoying when it disproportionately focuses attention on something. I don't feel like that's the case here.

Moreover, I notice that this hype has re-energized research, scientific publications, the release of open source packages and frameworks, training... At the same time, many companies are regaining interest in AI. Even the public sector is regaining interest in AI with the recent government initiatives (Artificial Intelligence Generative Committee which includes Yann Le Cun among others).

LLMs and OpenAI are also shaking up the tech giants' hegemony like Google, that doesn't happen every day!

This enthusiasm around AI is also materializing with a multiplication of talks, meetups, conferences. These numerous events offer regular opportunities for exchange and reflection.

Finally, this hype doesn't only benefit Data Scientists or ML Engineers! It benefits the entire Data ecosystem. There are positive externalities for Software Engineers, Data Engineers, Product Owners... and undoubtedly other professions as well. LLMs have also brought all the jobs I just mentioned a little closer together.

This excitement is nice to see and at the same time gives a hard time to all those trying to stay up to date.

We must take advantage of hypes because let's not forget that data science has seen some pretty cold winters. Moreover, amplified by the economic and social conditions of recent years.

So let's enjoy the hype.