Jian Li

h-index36
2papers
4,427citations

2 Papers

26.3AIDec 2, 2024Code
MBA-RAG: a Bandit Approach for Adaptive Retrieval-Augmented Generation through Question Complexity

Xiaqiang Tang, Qiang Gao, Jian Li et al.

Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) has proven to be highly effective in boosting the generative performance of language model in knowledge-intensive tasks. However, existing RAG framework either indiscriminately perform retrieval or rely on rigid single-class classifiers to select retrieval methods, leading to inefficiencies and suboptimal performance across queries of varying complexity. To address these challenges, we propose a reinforcement learning-based framework that dynamically selects the most suitable retrieval strategy based on query complexity. % our solution Our approach leverages a multi-armed bandit algorithm, which treats each retrieval method as a distinct ``arm'' and adapts the selection process by balancing exploration and exploitation. Additionally, we introduce a dynamic reward function that balances accuracy and efficiency, penalizing methods that require more retrieval steps, even if they lead to a correct result. Our method achieves new state of the art results on multiple single-hop and multi-hop datasets while reducing retrieval costs. Our code are available at https://github.com/FUTUREEEEEE/MBA .

12.5AIDec 10, 2024Code
Adapting to Non-Stationary Environments: Multi-Armed Bandit Enhanced Retrieval-Augmented Generation on Knowledge Graphs

Xiaqiang Tang, Jian Li, Nan Du et al.

Despite the superior performance of Large language models on many NLP tasks, they still face significant limitations in memorizing extensive world knowledge. Recent studies have demonstrated that leveraging the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework, combined with Knowledge Graphs that encapsulate extensive factual data in a structured format, robustly enhances the reasoning capabilities of LLMs. However, deploying such systems in real-world scenarios presents challenges: the continuous evolution of non-stationary environments may lead to performance degradation and user satisfaction requires a careful balance of performance and responsiveness. To address these challenges, we introduce a Multi-objective Multi-Armed Bandit enhanced RAG framework, supported by multiple retrieval methods with diverse capabilities under rich and evolving retrieval contexts in practice. Within this framework, each retrieval method is treated as a distinct ``arm''. The system utilizes real-time user feedback to adapt to dynamic environments, by selecting the appropriate retrieval method based on input queries and the historical multi-objective performance of each arm. Extensive experiments conducted on two benchmark KGQA datasets demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms baseline methods in non-stationary settings while achieving state-of-the-art performance in stationary environments. Code and data are available at https://github.com/FUTUREEEEEE/Dynamic-RAG.git