Position: Key Claims in LLM Research Have a Long Tail of Footnotes

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the assumptions and claims about Large Language Models (LLMs), providing a clear definition and analyzing five common assertions to guide future research directions.

Contribution

It offers a precise definition of LLMs and critically evaluates five prevalent claims, challenging assumptions in current discourse.

Findings

Identifies lack of a clear definition for LLMs

Critically examines five common claims about LLMs

Provides suggestions for future research directions

Abstract

Much of the recent discourse within the ML community has been centered around Large Language Models (LLMs), their functionality and potential -- yet not only do we not have a working definition of LLMs, but much of this discourse relies on claims and assumptions that are worth re-examining. We contribute a definition of LLMs, critically examine five common claims regarding their properties (including 'emergent properties'), and conclude with suggestions for future research directions and their framing.