Microsoft introduces the Phi-3 line of small language models

Microsoft has announced the Phi-3 family of open small language models (SLMs), touting them as the most capable and cost-effective of their size available. The innovative training approach developed by Microsoft researchers has allowed the Phi-3 models to outperform larger models on language, coding, and math benchmarks.

"What we're going to start to see is not a shift from large to small, but a shift from a singular category of models to a portfolio of models where customers get...

Despite the thoughtful data curation, Microsoft emphasises applying additional safety practices to the Phi-3 release mirroring its standard processes for all generative AI models.

“As with all generative AI model releases, Microsoft’s product and responsible AI teams used a multi-layered approach to manage and mitigate risks in developing Phi-3 models,” a blog post stated.  

This included further training examples to reinforce expected behaviours, assessments to identify vulnerabilities through red-teaming, and offering Azure AI tools for customers to build trustworthy applications atop Phi-3.