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HyDE (Hypothetical Document Embeddings)

A retrieval-augmentation technique that uses an LLM to generate a zero-shot pseudo-document in response to a query; this 'hypothetical' answer is then embedded and used as the vector search key to bridge the semantic gap between short user queries and long-form documents. While it improves retrieval recall, it introduces trade-offs in the form of increased latency and API costs due to the additional LLM generation step.

Definition

A retrieval-augmentation technique that uses an LLM to generate a zero-shot pseudo-document in response to a query; this 'hypothetical' answer is then embedded and used as the vector search key to bridge the semantic gap between short user queries and long-form documents. While it improves retrieval recall, it introduces trade-offs in the form of increased latency and API costs due to the additional LLM generation step.

Disambiguation

Not an encryption or data-masking technique; it is a 'hallucination-driven' search strategy.

Visual Metaphor

"The Forensic Sketch Artist: Instead of searching a database with a vague verbal description, you create a detailed drawing of what the suspect likely looks like and search for visual matches to that drawing."

Key Tools
LangChainLlamaIndexOpenAI APIHaystackSentence-Transformers
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Conceptual Overview

A retrieval-augmentation technique that uses an LLM to generate a zero-shot pseudo-document in response to a query; this 'hypothetical' answer is then embedded and used as the vector search key to bridge the semantic gap between short user queries and long-form documents. While it improves retrieval recall, it introduces trade-offs in the form of increased latency and API costs due to the additional LLM generation step.

Disambiguation

Not an encryption or data-masking technique; it is a 'hallucination-driven' search strategy.

Visual Analog

The Forensic Sketch Artist: Instead of searching a database with a vague verbal description, you create a detailed drawing of what the suspect likely looks like and search for visual matches to that drawing.

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