Beyond Natural Language: Llms Leveraging Alternative Formats For Enhanced Reasoning And Communication

Chen Weize, Yuan Chenfei, Yuan Jiarui, Su Yusheng, Qian Chen, Yang Cheng, Xie Ruobing, Liu Zhiyuan, Sun Maosong. Arxiv 2024

[Paper] [Code]    
Agentic Efficiency And Optimization Has Code RAG Reinforcement Learning Training Techniques

Natural language (NL) has long been the predominant format for human cognition and communication, and by extension, has been similarly pivotal in the development and application of Large Language Models (LLMs). Yet, besides NL, LLMs have seen various non-NL formats during pre-training, such as code and logical expression. NL’s status as the optimal format for LLMs, particularly in single-LLM reasoning and multi-agent communication, has not been thoroughly examined. In this work, we challenge the default use of NL by exploring the utility of non-NL formats in these contexts. We show that allowing LLMs to autonomously select the most suitable format before reasoning or communicating leads to a 3.3 to 5.7% improvement in reasoning efficiency for different LLMs, and up to a 72.7% reduction in token usage in multi-agent communication, all while maintaining communicative effectiveness. Our comprehensive analysis further reveals that LLMs can devise a format from limited task instructions and that the devised format is effectively transferable across different LLMs. Intriguingly, the structured communication format decided by LLMs exhibits notable parallels with established agent communication languages, suggesting a natural evolution towards efficient, structured communication in agent communication. Our code is released at \url{https://github.com/thunlp/AutoForm}.

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