Principled RL for Diffusion LLMs Emerges from a Sequence-Level Perspective
PositiveArtificial Intelligence
- A new framework called ELBO-based Sequence-level Policy Optimization (ESPO) has been proposed to enhance reinforcement learning (RL) for diffusion large language models (dLLMs). This approach addresses the challenges of likelihood approximation in dLLMs, which generate sequences through non-autoregressive denoising steps, contrasting with autoregressive models that provide token-level probabilities. ESPO treats entire sequence generation as a single action, improving stability in large-scale training.
- The introduction of ESPO is significant as it represents a methodological advancement in applying RL to dLLMs, which have been challenging to optimize effectively. By utilizing the Evidence Lower Bound (ELBO) as a likelihood proxy, this framework aims to improve the performance of dLLMs in tasks such as mathematical reasoning and coding, potentially leading to more robust AI applications.
- This development reflects a broader trend in AI research focusing on refining RL techniques to enhance model performance across various domains. The ongoing exploration of methods like offline goal-conditioned RL and uncertainty quantification in reward learning indicates a growing emphasis on improving the alignment and effectiveness of large language models (LLMs) in complex tasks, addressing issues of safety, privacy, and policy compliance.
— via World Pulse Now AI Editorial System
