Thread

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

103 points · 110 comments · yu3zhou4

Izmaki · 1790508818 · 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 · 1790510825 · 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://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-04074-y" rel="nofollow">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-04074-y
  1. bastawhiz · 1790516120 · focus · HN ↗
    That's still incredibly valuable, though. I suffered from issues that I'd seen doctors for, undergone an upper endoscopy, adjusted my diet, and taken medication for. An LLM suggested my thyroid was at the root of it. My mom confirmed thyroid issues run in our family and just...never thought to tell me.
    Just this year, our cat has been having digestive problems. We got special food for her, which she hates, with the suggestion that she'll need to eat it for the rest of her life. Six vet visits later, Fable 5 suggested two tests that my doctor recommended we didn't get. Both found issues that explain her symptoms, and the vet says she will probably only need a supplement and infrequent two week courses of medicine if she has a flare-up.
    All that to say, the helplessness of not knowing what's wrong and the people who could know not really caring enough is something that LLMs do a really great job of mitigating. If you don't have any way to know what's wrong with you or a loved one, or how to find out, you're stuck spending a ton of money (in the US at least) and crossing your fingers that someone gets it right.
    therealpygon · 1790517466 · focus · HN ↗
    Playing the critic that alternate “50%” outcomes were:
    - You didn’t have a thyroid issue and you spent thousands more on tests the doctor was right that you didn’t need.
    - Your cat didn’t have that issue and you spent hundreds on unnecessary tests.
    Are you essentially saying that it is better for an LLM to sell you an idea that sometimes might be right, selling a dream to anyone with and without the money for it?
    So… a telephone psychic?
    The thing about WebMD telling everyone they have cancer is that sometimes it will be right.
    (Just for clarity, I’m really glad it was helpful for you.)
    bastawhiz · 1790531040 · focus · HN ↗
    I mean, the LLM was right in both cases. And that's what tests are for: testing whether a hypothesis was correct. It's only a waste of time and money if the LLM is only marginally better than flipping a coin. It's my experience that the LLMs are far, far better than that threshold.
    The difference between an LLM and WebMD is that WebMD is a page of information. Any reasoning is yours, based on a small fraction of the information available to you. An LLM is based on all the medical literature of all time. It's not even close to being the same thing.
    Even if you argue that an LLM is just a prediction engine, that's kind of exactly the right tool for the job. "If you have these symptoms and not these other ones, these are likely causes" plays against the lone strength that LLMs' detractors argue they do well.

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