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"As a Language Model": Chat Template Switches LLM Self-Referential Voice

103 points · 110 comments · yu3zhou4

  1. Izmaki · · focus · HN ↗
    "As a Language Model..." is one of the beginnings of a sentence I hate the most from LLMs and is the reason why I support free (as in "Liberty"), local models. I'm well aware that it is not a doctor and cannot replace a real doctor with multiple years of experience, I don't need to waste braincell activity on reading that it "as a Language Model" cannot give a precise diagnosis and that I should ask a real doctor - all I want to know is if I what I experience justifies either A) ER, B) 3-4 weeks scheduled doctors appointment or C) two paracetamol and a nap.

    I don't want "jailbroken" LLMs to commit crime. I want them to avoid having this vendor-specific "bloatware" all over the product I'm using.

    1. Anduia · · focus · HN ↗
      Be careful there. LLMs may be good at identifying a condition based on a description of the symptoms, but they are much worse at recommending the correct course of action (getting it wrong half of the time).

      [0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nature.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;s41591-025-04074-y" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nature.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;s41591-025-04074-y

      1. rao-v · · focus · HN ↗
        Modern models appear to be much better, at least as proxied by their ability to assess urgency in perhaps a more complex setting: mental health (OpenAI benchmark, so perhaps some skepticism is warranted but the methodology seem reasonable and detailed)

        <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;openai.com&#x2F;index&#x2F;introducing-mentalhealthbench&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;openai.com&#x2F;index&#x2F;introducing-mentalhealthbench&#x2F;

        1. bunderbunder · · focus · HN ↗
          We should be careful about extrapolating from benchmarks to real life though. In medical applications, various forms of AI have been beating health care practitioners at specific benchmark tasks since the 1990s. They still have a pretty poor track record of real world success. The real world is not all that similar to a benchmark, as it turns out.
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