How LLMs Understand Text: Context and Meaning in the AI Age

This event is part of a series, “Kellogg and AI Learning Lectures”, which is organised by Kellogg College and the AI and Machine Learning Competency Centre at Oxford. Open to all Oxford University staff and students, these sessions are designed to boost understanding of developments in AI, build confidence in using emerging technologies, and support colleagues in playing an active role in shaping Oxford’s digital future.

Large Language Models represent an entirely new paradigm of semantic information processing. They are the first time a computer can process the meaning of text without mark-up. Their ability to “understand” text is at the same time familiarly human and completely alien. They can write poems and extract subtle clues from opaque texts but at the same time they fail at seemingly trivial tasks like counting words in a sentence. They seem to possess deep knowledge of the world yet fall for the most trivial of spatial puzzles. They can write code that will emulate a calculator but not multiply numbers. Based on casual use in a seemingly similar context, two people can easily come to the conclusion, that the models are practically infallible or entirely useless.

This talk presented by Dominik Lukeš, a Lead Business Technologist at the AI and ML Competency Centre will outline how Large Language Models “read” and “understand” text and how they generate their response. This contrasts with how humans perform the same tasks (which is not always the same as how they perceive them). The talk will explore how humans deploy attention, working memory and external tools to deal with complex text in contrast to the models which only use a form of attention.

About Dominik

Dominik Lukeš has run workshops on AI in education since 2019, focusing on generative AI since ChatGPT's introduction in 2022. He authored "Beyond ChatGPT: The state of generative AI in academic practice" and contributed to "Transforming Higher Education: How we can harness AI in teaching and assessments." Dominik also publishes a LinkedIn newsletter on AI in academia and has spoken at international conferences, including AHEAD by BETT 2023 and the European Educational Publishers Group.

Dominik serves on advisory boards for MacGraw Hill and Bett UK. He has also been a guest on a number of podcasts discussing generative AI in education. Previously, he founded the Reading and Writing Innovation Lab at the Centre for Teaching and Learning Lab. His academic interests include linguistics, language education, and discourse analysis, and he has published and translated extensively in these areas.

This event is open to Kellogg College members and Oxford University members.

Please note:

The event will start with tea, coffee and biscuits from 5-5.30pm, followed by the talk from 5.30-6.30pm.

This event may be photographed and filmed. If you do not wish to appear in the photographs/footage, please let the photographer/videographer know.

Should you have any further queries, or are unable to attend after booking, please contact events@kellogg.ox.ac.uk