Emergent Mind

Halu-J: Critique-Based Hallucination Judge

(2407.12943)
Published Jul 17, 2024 in cs.CL and cs.AI

Abstract

LLMs frequently generate non-factual content, known as hallucinations. Existing retrieval-augmented-based hallucination detection approaches typically address this by framing it as a classification task, evaluating hallucinations based on their consistency with retrieved evidence. However, this approach usually lacks detailed explanations for these evaluations and does not assess the reliability of these explanations. Furthermore, deficiencies in retrieval systems can lead to irrelevant or partially relevant evidence retrieval, impairing the detection process. Moreover, while real-world hallucination detection requires analyzing multiple pieces of evidence, current systems usually treat all evidence uniformly without considering its relevance to the content. To address these challenges, we introduce Halu-J, a critique-based hallucination judge with 7 billion parameters. Halu-J enhances hallucination detection by selecting pertinent evidence and providing detailed critiques. Our experiments indicate that Halu-J outperforms GPT-4o in multiple-evidence hallucination detection and matches its capability in critique generation and evidence selection. We also introduce ME-FEVER, a new dataset designed for multiple-evidence hallucination detection. Our code and dataset can be found in https://github.com/GAIR-NLP/factool .

A critique comparing Halu-J to Mistral-7b, with factuality equated to no hallucination.

Overview

  • Introduces Halu-J, a critique-based hallucination detection model designed to enhance interpretability and reliability in LLMs.

  • Develops the ME-FEVER dataset, an extension of the FEVER dataset, for evaluating multiple-evidence hallucination detection.

  • Halu-J demonstrates superior performance in label prediction accuracy, critique quality, and evidence matching, setting a new benchmark for hallucination detection accuracy and interpretability.

Halu-J: Critique-Based Hallucination Judge

The paper "Halu-J: Critique-Based Hallucination Judge" proposes a novel critique-based hallucination detection model, Halu-J, designed to enhance the interpretability and reliability of hallucination detection in LLMs. This essay provides an expert overview of the paper, emphasizing the key technical contributions, experimental results, and implications for future research in AI.

Large language models are known for their propensity to generate non-factual content, commonly referred to as hallucinations. Traditional methodologies for hallucination detection typically rely on retrieval-augmented systems, which classify hallucinations based on retrieved evidence. However, these methods suffer from significant drawbacks, including a lack of detailed explanations, the negative impact of retrieval deficiencies on detection accuracy, and the uniform treatment of multiple pieces of evidence without considering their relevance to the claim.

Key Contributions

The paper introduces Halu-J, a 7 billion parameter model designed to address these challenges by focusing on critique generation and evidence selection in hallucination detection. The primary contributions include:

  1. Introduction of Halu-J: An advanced critique-based hallucination judge that selects pertinent evidence and provides detailed critiques, outperforming existing models in multiple-evidence hallucination detection.
  2. ME-FEVER Dataset: The creation of ME-FEVER, a dataset specifically designed for multiple-evidence hallucination detection. This dataset is an extension of the FEVER dataset and includes sections of completely irrelevant, partially irrelevant, and highly relevant evidence.
  3. Workflow for Evidence Handling: The paper outlines a structured workflow for evidence categorization, reordering, individual analysis, and aggregated critique generation, ensuring a robust process for determining the factuality of claims.

Methodology

The Halu-J system is built on three key technical developments: dataset creation, preference-based learning integration, and a comprehensive evaluation strategy. The ME-FEVER dataset encompasses 3,901 instances with various types of evidence to challenge the robustness of hallucination detectors. Halu-J's preference-based learning method aims to identify and prioritize relevant evidence, enhancing critique quality. The evaluation framework assesses both critique and answer-level performance.

Evidence Categorization and Reordering: The framework categorizes evidence into irrelevant, partially irrelevant, and highly relevant types, then reorders them for systematic analysis. This step ensures clarity and organization while improving accuracy through a step-by-step analysis approach.

Detailed Analysis and Aggregated Critique Generation: Each piece of evidence undergoes detailed scrutiny to determine its relation to the claim. The concluding step involves aggregating these analyses to generate a comprehensive critique and a conclusive factuality label.

Experimental Results

The experiments demonstrate that Halu-J significantly outperforms baseline models, including GPT-4o, particularly in multiple-evidence scenarios.

  • Label Prediction Accuracy: Halu-J achieves the highest accuracy of 91% on the ME-FEVER dataset, outperforming both open-source and closed-source models such as GPT-3.5-Turbo and GPT-4o.
  • Critique Quality: Evaluations using GPT-4-Turbo to score generated critiques show that Halu-J produces high-quality critiques with scores close to GPT-4o.
  • Evidence Matching: Halu-J demonstrates superior ability in matching evidence to its respective type, which correlates with its high accuracy in hallucination detection.

Implications and Future Directions

The practical and theoretical implications of this research are manifold. On a practical level, the deployment of Halu-J in real-world applications can significantly enhance the reliability of LLM outputs by providing detailed, understandable critiques alongside hallucination detection. Theoretically, the structured approach to evidence handling and critique generation sets a new benchmark for future research in hallucination detection and other NLP tasks requiring interpretability.

Future developments could focus on extending the ME-FEVER dataset to encompass a broader range of evidence types and real-world scenarios. Further research could explore the integration of Halu-J with other models to enhance efficiency and adaptability, such as in real-time AI systems. Additionally, improvements in handling different types of hallucinations, such as numerical calculation errors, could be targeted to expand the model's applicability.

Conclusion

"Halu-J: Critique-Based Hallucination Judge" presents significant advancements in hallucination detection by introducing a model that excels in evidence selection and critique generation. This work not only sets a new standard for accuracy and interpretability in hallucination detection but also paves the way for future innovations in enhancing the reliability of AI-generated content. The open-source nature of Halu-J and the ME-FEVER dataset further enrich the resources available for ongoing research in this critical area of AI development.

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