Language models have evolved from simple word counters to billion-parameter models, built on decades of breakthroughs.
The progress from Bag-of-Words (BoW) to n-gram models improved context prediction but lacked understanding.
Word2Vec introduced word embeddings, representing words as vectors in a relational space.
Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks improved language sequence processing.
The introduction of Transformers in 2017 revolutionized language modeling with self-attention.
Models like BERT, GPT-2, and T5 are built on the Transformer architecture, focusing on context and relationships.
Recent advancements have led to massive models like GPT-3 with 175 billion parameters and instruction-tuned models for various tasks.
Future directions include domain-specific models, neuro-symbolic systems, and connecting language models with real-world data.
The evolution of language models reflects our evolving understanding of language, culture, and the nuances of communication.
The future of language models may prioritize smarter, more understanding models over simply scaling up in size.
Understanding the history of language models is essential in grasping how each step contributes to the evolving capabilities of machines in language processing.