Efficient Long-Context AI: Managing Attention Costs in Large Language Models
Introduction to Long-Context Challenges in AI Large language models (LLMs) are transforming many areas of society by enabling advanced AI applications. These models often require processing long sequences of text, known as long-contexts, to perform tasks like document analysis or conversational understanding. However, as the length of input context grows, the computational effort for the model's attention mechanism increases significantly. This challenge affects the ability to deploy AI systems efficiently and sustainably in real-world environments. Understanding Attention Computation Costs The attention mechanism in LLMs allows the model to weigh the importance of different words or tokens in the input. This process involves calculations that grow quadratically with the length of the input context. In practical terms, doubling the context length can quadruple the amount of computation needed. For engineers, this means more powerful hardware, longer processing times, and...