I Don’t Let LLMs Do Even Simple Math (And You Shouldn’t Either)

Author(s): Dulan Jayawickrama

Originally published on Towards AI.

I Don’t Let LLMs Do Even Simple Math (And You Shouldn’t Either)

Ever wondered why your trusty AI buddy flubs even the simplest math? I sure did. Last week I discovered a bug in an AI service I was working on: users could ask, “What’s my total usage in the past month?” Then we have to add 30 values, but our AI kept miscalculating the sum.

This article highlights the unreliability of large language models (LLMs) when it comes to performing even simple arithmetic calculations. The author shares a personal experience of encountering this issue, leading to the discovery of practical solutions to ensure accurate results. By either having the LLM generate a Python script for calculations or providing it with a calculator tool, users can circumvent the shortcomings of LLMs, resulting in precise calculations and avoiding mistakes.

Read the full blog for free on Medium.

Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming a sponsor.

Published via Towards AI