SEReDeEP: Hallucination Detection in Retrieval-Augmented Models via Semantic Entropy and Context-Parameter Fusion

TL;DR

This paper introduces SEReDeEP, an advanced hallucination detection method for retrieval-augmented models that leverages semantic entropy and context-parameter fusion to improve accuracy over previous approaches.

Contribution

SEReDeEP extends the ReDeEP framework by incorporating semantic entropy via trained probes, enabling more precise hallucination detection in RAG models.

Findings

Semantic entropy improves hallucination detection accuracy.

Dynamic modulation reduces hallucination occurrences.

Enhanced assessment aligns better with ground truth evaluations.

Abstract

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) models frequently encounter hallucination phenomena when integrating external information with internal parametric knowledge. Empirical studies demonstrate that the disequilibrium between external contextual information and internal parametric knowledge constitutes a primary factor in hallucination generation. Existing hallucination detection methodologies predominantly emphasize either the external or internal mechanism in isolation, thereby overlooking their synergistic effects. The recently proposed ReDeEP framework decouples these dual mechanisms, identifying two critical contributors to hallucinations: excessive reliance on parametric knowledge encoded in feed-forward networks (FFN) and insufficient utilization of external information by attention mechanisms (particularly copy heads). ReDeEP quantitatively assesses these factors to detect hallucinations and dynamically modulates the contributions of FFNs and copy heads to attenuate their occurrence. Nevertheless, ReDeEP and numerous other hallucination detection approaches have been employed at logit-level uncertainty estimation or language-level self-consistency evaluation, inadequately address the semantic dimensions of model responses, resulting in inconsistent hallucination assessments in RAG implementations. Building upon ReDeEP's foundation, this paper introduces SEReDeEP, which enhances computational processes through semantic entropy captured via trained linear probes, thereby achieving hallucination assessments that more accurately reflect ground truth evaluations.