A 10-year trend holds: small fine-tuned models on selective data still beat bigger general models
xeophon · x · 2026-09-24
In a reply about a particular eval, xeophon argues the trend holding for 10+ years still matters: a smaller model fine-tuned on selective data tends to beat a bigger model trained on more general data for targeted tasks. He concedes the specific eval isn't comprehensive, but says the broader trend — the tradeoff between scale and data curation — is what counts.
Related event: Fine-Tuned Small Models Beating Big Ones: A Decade-Old Pendulum(2 posts)→
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