What is Parameter Efficient Fine Tuning (PEFT)?
Parameter Efficient Fine Tuning (PEFT) is a method of improving pretrained large language models (LLMs) and neural networks for specific tasks by training only a small set of parameters while preserving most of the model's original structure. It enables efficient model specialization without the computational overhead of full fine-tuning.
Understanding PEFT
PEFT addresses the challenge of adapting large AI models to specific tasks by minimizing the resources required for fine-tuning. It works by selectively training only the most relevant parameters while keeping most of the pretrained model frozen.
Key aspects of PEFT include:
- Selective Training: Only trains a small subset of model parameters.
- Resource Efficiency: Minimizes computational and storage requirements.
- Knowledge Preservation: Maintains pretrained model knowledge.
- Adaptability: Enables specialized task performance.
- Cost Effectiveness: Reduces training resources and time.
Components of PEFT
PEFT involves several key components:
- Adapters: Small, trainable modules added to transformer layers.
- Frozen Parameters: Original model weights that remain unchanged.
- Training Strategy: Methods for selecting and updating specific parameters.
- Fine-tuning Techniques: Various approaches like LoRA, QLoRA, and prompt-tuning.
Advantages of PEFT
- Reduced Resource Requirements: Minimal computational needs.
- Fast Adaptation: Quick specialization for new tasks.
- Memory Efficiency: Lower storage requirements.
- Prevention of Catastrophic Forgetting: Preserves original model knowledge.
- Cost Effectiveness: Lower training and deployment costs.
- Flexibility: Enables multiple specialized versions of base models.
- Lower Data Requirements: Needs less training data than full fine-tuning.
Challenges and Considerations
- Technique Selection: Choosing appropriate PEFT method for specific use cases.
- Performance Balance: Managing trade-offs between efficiency and effectiveness.
- Implementation Complexity: Requires understanding of various PEFT approaches.
- Architecture Compatibility: Not all techniques work with all model architectures.
- Training Strategy: Determining optimal parameter selection for training.
Related Terms
- Fine-tuning: The process of further training a pre-trained model on a specific dataset to adapt it to a particular task or domain.
- Transfer learning: Applying knowledge gained from one task to improve performance on a different but related task.
- Instruction tuning: Fine-tuning language models on datasets focused on instruction-following tasks.
- Prompt tuning: Fine-tuning only a small set of task-specific prompt parameters while keeping the main model frozen.
- Prompt engineering: The practice of designing and optimizing prompts to achieve desired outcomes from AI models.
