Towards Data Science

Your JSON Is Valid but Your Data Is Wrong: Five Failure Modes LLM Structured Outputs Won't Catch

The article discusses five failure modes that can slip through constrained decoding in large language models, explaining why these errors are not detected by schema validators. It highlights that even when JSON output is syntactically valid, the underlying data can still be incorrect. The post serves as a warning that relying solely on schema validation is insufficient for ensuring correct structured outputs from LLMs.

Towards Data Science
Aug 31

Your LLM Can Return Perfect JSON and Still Be Wrong

The article discusses insights gained from a deeper examination of Structured Outputs when dealing with messy, incomplete data. It highlights that even when a large language model returns perfectly formatted JSON, the content can still be incorrect. The author reflects on the implications of this observation for data science practices.

By Benjamin Nweke
Towards Data Science
Sep 24

When the Correct Answer Is Nothing, What Does Your Pipeline Return?

The article discusses how the reliability mechanisms added to large language model (LLM) pipelines can lead to confident but incorrect outputs, especially when the correct answer is absent. It examines the behavior of pipelines in such scenarios and highlights the paradox where safeguards intended to improve accuracy may actually reinforce errors. The piece underscores the importance of understanding pipeline responses when faced with missing or ambiguous information.

By Hubert García Gordon
Simon Willison
2d ago

datasette-llm 0.1a10

The article announces the release of datasette-llm version 0.1a10. It reports a bug fix that corrects the demo site at agent.datasette.io, ensuring that only LLM models specified in the configuration are available. The update addresses a configuration issue affecting model availability.

Towards Data Science
Sep 3

My Model Worked Perfectly. Then I Tried to Make It Useful.

The article describes how to deploy a trained churn classifier as a FastAPI service so that other software can call it. It focuses on the practical steps needed to transform a model that performs well in isolation into a usable, callable API. The post is aimed at readers who want to make their machine‑learning models accessible in real-world applications.

By Ibrahim Salami
Towards Data Science
Sep 29

When All You Have Are Decoders, Every Decision Looks Like Generation

The article titled "When All You Have Are Decoders, Every Decision Looks Like Generation" discusses the misconception that every decision-making process requires a decoder and that generation is not inherently a decision. It highlights that not every decision needs a decoder and clarifies the distinction between generation and decision-making. The piece was originally published on Towards Data Science.

By Lambert Leong