Encoder-decoder language models and all sorts of stuff were used for translation and spellcheck, long before “LLM” was in anyone’s vocabulary. Embeddings models were used in documentation searches, in IDEs, and other places. Whenever you used any search engine, pre Sam Altman, you were likely hitting text models too.
They worked alright.
It was not an issue. No one hated them; they are simple tools with a specific function.
I think people need to be careful of spilling (quite reasonable) hate of Tech Bro AI into the wider, older field of machine learning. In spite of the effort to conflate them, they aren’t the same thing.
Encoder-decoder language models and all sorts of stuff were used for translation and spellcheck, long before “LLM” was in anyone’s vocabulary. Embeddings models were used in documentation searches, in IDEs, and other places. Whenever you used any search engine, pre Sam Altman, you were likely hitting text models too.
They worked alright.
It was not an issue. No one hated them; they are simple tools with a specific function.
I think people need to be careful of spilling (quite reasonable) hate of Tech Bro AI into the wider, older field of machine learning. In spite of the effort to conflate them, they aren’t the same thing.