Machine Learning fundamentals (LLM / Generative AI track)
You are interviewed for an ML role focused on LLMs and generative AI.
Part A — LLM fine-tuning
-
What are common ways to adapt/fine-tune a pretrained LLM for a downstream task?
-
For each approach, explain
how it works
,
pros/cons
, and
when you would choose it
.
-
Discuss practical scenario considerations such as:
-
limited labeled data
-
strict latency/cost constraints
-
need for domain adaptation without forgetting general capabilities
-
safety/alignment requirements
Part B — Generative models
Explain and compare:
-
Autoencoders (AE)
-
Variational Autoencoders (VAE)
-
Vector-Quantized VAE (VQ-VAE)
For each, cover the objective, training behavior, typical failure modes, and common use cases.