5 AI Trends of 2024

4. Rise in Small Language Models (SLMs)

In response to the high computational and energy demands of large-scale AI models, in 2024, the focus is shifting towards Small Language Models (SLMs) which despite being smaller than their Large Language Models (LLM), are becoming increasingly powerful. SLMs that can operate efficiently even on a smartphone offline, are much more cost-effective and accessible, making them a significant trend in AI. Microsoft researchers have been at the forefront of this movement, developing models such as Phi and Orca, which challenge the notion that only large models can deliver high performance.