InstructZero

InstructZero is a novel framework designed to optimize prompts for large language models (LLMs), particularly black-box APIs like ChatGPT, where direct backpropagation isn't possible. It addresses the challenge of finding effective instructions for diverse situations by indirectly optimizing a low-dimensional "soft prompt" using an open-source LLM. This soft prompt is then used to generate the instruction for the black-box LLM. The process, akin to aligning humans with LLMs rather than aligning LLMs with humans, iteratively refines the prompt, improving the performance of the black-box LLM on a given task based on a Bayesian optimization process.

By integrating an instruction-coupled kernel and asynchronous API calls, InstructZero efficiently explores and improves upon initially poor prompts, leading to enhanced zero-shot performance on a range of tasks. This approach has demonstrated superior results compared to existing methods across various downstream tasks and opens the possibility of optimizing interactions with complex and opaque AI models. InstructZero provides a unique solution for those seeking to get the most out of black-box LLMs without requiring direct access to model parameters.