LLM aids for processing of the first Carlson-Putin interview

Anton Antonov
RakuForPrediction at WordPress
RakuForPrediction-book at GitHub
February 2024

Introduction

In this notebook we provide aids and computational workflows for the analysis of the first Carlson-Putin interview held in February 9th, 2024 . We mostly use Large Language Models (LLMs). We walk through various steps involved in examining and understanding the interview in a systematic and reproducible manner.

The interview transcripts (in English and Russian) are taken from en.kremlin.ru .

The LLM functions used in the workflows are explained and demonstrated in [AA1, SW1, AAv3, CWv1]. The workflows are done with OpenAI's models [AAp1, CWp1]; the models of Google (PaLM), [AAp2], and MistralAI, [AAp3], can be also used for the Part 1 summary and the search engine. The related images were generated with workflows described in [AA2].

Out[]=

Structure

The structure of the notebook is as follows:

Getting the interview text
Standard ingestion.

Preliminary LLM queries
What are the most important parts or most provocative questions?

Part 1: separation and summary
Overview of the historical review.

Part 2: thematic parts
TLDR via a table of themes.

Interview's spoken parts
Non-LLM extraction of participants' parts.

Search engine
Fast results with LLM embeddings.

Flavored variations
How would Hillary phrase it? And how would Trump answer it?

Sections 5 and 6 can be skipped -- they are (somewhat) more technical.

Observations

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Using the LLM functions for programmatic access of LLMs speeds up the efforts, I would say, by factor 3-5 times.

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The workflows presented below are fairly universal -- with small changes the notebook can be applied to other interviews.

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Using OpenAI's preview model "gpt-4-turbo-preview" spares or simplifies a fair amount of workflow elements.

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The model "gpt-4-turbo-preview" takes input with 128K tokens.

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Hence the whole interview can be processed in one LLM request.

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Since I watched the interview, I can see that the LLM results for most provocative questions or most important statements are good.

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It is interesting to think about believing those results by people who have not watched the interview.

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The search engine can be replaced or enhanced with a Question Answering System (QAS).

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The flavored variations might be too subtle.

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I expected more obvious manifestation of characters involved.

Getting the interview text

The interviews are taken from the dedicated Kremlin's page "Interview to Tucker Carlson" , hosted at en.kremlin.ru .

Here we define a text statistics function:

In[]:=

Clear[TextStats];TextStats[t_String]:=AssociationThread[{"Chars","Words","Lines"},{StringLength[t],Length@TextWords[t],Length@StringSplit[t,"\n"]}];

Here we ingest interview's text:

In[]:=

txtEN=Import["https://raw.githubusercontent.com/antononcube/SimplifiedMachineLearningWorkflows-book/master/Data/Carlson-Putin-interview-2024-02-09-English.txt"];txtEN=StringReplace[txtEN,RegularExpression["\\v+"]->"\n"];TextStats[txtEN]

Out[]=

Chars97354,Words16913,Lines292

Preliminary LLM queries

Here we configure LLM access -- we use OpenAI's model "gpt-4-turbo-preview" since it allows inputs with 128K tokens:

In[]:=

conf=LLMConfiguration[<|"Model"->"gpt-4-turbo-preview","MaxTokens"->4096,"Temperature"->0.2|>]

Out[]=

LLMConfiguration

Model: ServiceAutomatic,Namegpt-4-turbo-preview

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Questions

First we make an LLM request about the number of questions asked:

In[]:=

LLMSynthesize[{"How many questions were asked in the following interview?",txtEN},LLMEvaluator->conf]

Out[]=

In the interview between Tucker Carlson and President Vladimir Putin, a total of 89 questions were asked by Tucker Carlson.

Here we ask the questions to be extracted into a JSON list:

llmQuestions=LLMSynthesize[{"Extract all questions from the following interview into a JSON list.",txtEN,LLMPrompt["NothingElse"]["JSON"]},LLMEvaluator->conf];llmQuestions=FromJSON[llmQuestions];

In[]:=

DeduceType[llmQuestions]

Out[]=

Vector[Atom[String],33]

We can see that the LLM-extracted questions are two times less than the LLM-obtained number of questions above. Here are the extracted questions (in a multi-column format):

In[]:=

Multicolumn[llmQuestions,3,Dividers->All]

Out[]=

Tell us why you believe the United States might strike Russia out of the blue. How did you conclude that?	Why do you think that is? Just to get to motive. I know, you’re clearly bitter about it. I understand. But why do you think the West rebuffed you then? Why the hostility? Why did the end of the Cold War not fix the relationship? What motivates this from your point of view?	Why are they being silent about it? That is very confusing to me. Why wouldn’t the Germans say something about it?
You were initially trained in history, as far as I know?	So, twice you've described US presidents making decisions and then being undercut by their agency heads. So, it sounds like you're describing a system that is not run by the people who are elected, in your telling.	Is the BRICS, for example, in danger of being completely dominated by the Chinese economy? In a way that is not good for their sovereignty. Do you worry about that?
I beg your pardon, can you tell us what period… I am losing track of where in history we are.	May I ask what year was this?	Do you think if there was a new administration after Joe Biden that you would be able to re-establish communication with the US government? Or does it not matter who the President is?
It doesn’t sound like you are inventing it, but I am not sure why it’s relevant to what’s happened two years ago.	What did he say?	What are those power centres in the United States, do you think? And who actually makes the decisions?
May I ask… You are making the case that Ukraine, certain parts of Ukraine, Eastern Ukraine, in fact, has been Russia for hundreds of years. Why wouldn’t you just take it when you became President 24 years ago? You have nuclear weapons, they don’t. It’s actually your land. Why did you wait so long?	But you haven’t spoken to him since before February of 2022?	When does the AI empire start do you think?
Were you sincere? Would you have joined NATO?	You do not remember?!	What do you think of that?
But if he had said yes, would you have joined NATO?	But he is funding the war that you are fighting, so I think that would be memorable?	Evan Gershkovich who is the Wall Street Journal reporter, he is 32 and he’s been in prison for almost a year. This is a huge story in the United States and I just want to ask you directly without getting into details of your version of what happened, if as a sign of your decency you’ll be willing to release him to us and we’ll bring him back to the United States?
Why do you think that is? Just to get to motive. I know, you’re clearly bitter about it. I understand. But why do you think the West rebuffed you then? Why the hostility? Why did the end of the Cold War not fix the relationship? What motivates this from your point of view?	Do you think NATO was worried about this becoming a global war or nuclear conflict?	Are you suggesting he was working for the US government or NATO? Or he was just a reporter who was given material he wasn’t supposed to have? Those seem like very different, very different things.
What is denazification? What would that mean?	Who blew up Nord Stream?	So maybe he is in a different category, maybe it’s not fair to ask for somebody else in exchange for letting him out. Maybe it degrades Russia to do that.
Do you believe Hungary has a right to take back its land from Ukraine? And that other nations have a right to go back to their 1654 borders?	Do you have evidence that NATO or the CIA did it?	I guess I want to ask one more question which is, and maybe you don’t want to say so for strategic reasons, but are you worried that what’s happening in Ukraine could lead to something much larger and much more horrible and how motivated are you just to call the US government and say, “let’s come to terms”?
Have you told Viktor Orban that he can have a part of Ukraine?	Why wouldn’t you present it and win a propaganda victory?	Would you be willing to say, “Congratulations, NATO, you won?” And just keep the situation where it is now?

Important parts

Here we make a function of extracting significant parts from the interview:

Here we define a function that converts Markdown formatting specs into Wolfram Language formatting specs:

Remark: The conversion from Markdown to WL via LLM is not very reliable. Below we use the best results of several iterations.

Most provocative questions

Here we get the most provocative questions:

Based on the content and context of the interview between Tucker Carlson and President Vladimir Putin, identifying the top three most provocative questions involves subjective judgment. However, considering the potential for controversy, international implications, and the depth of response they elicited, the following three questions can be considered among the most provocative:

NATO Expansion and Perceived Threats to Russia:

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Question: "On February 24, 2022, you addressed your country in your nationwide address when the conflict in Ukraine started and you said that you were acting because you had come to the conclusion that the United States through NATO might initiate a quote, “surprise attack on our country.” And to American ears that sounds paranoid. Tell us why you believe the United States might strike Russia out of the blue. How did you conclude that?"

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Context: This question directly challenges Putin's justification for the military actions in Ukraine, suggesting paranoia, and seeks an explanation for Russia's perceived threat from NATO and the U.S., which is central to understanding the conflict's origins from Russia's perspective.

Possibility of Negotiated Settlement in Ukraine:

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Question: "Do you think Zelensky has the freedom to negotiate the settlement to this conflict?"

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Context: This question probes the autonomy and authority of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the context of peace negotiations, implicitly questioning the influence of external powers (notably the U.S.) on Ukraine's decision-making and the potential for resolving the conflict through diplomacy.

Use of Nuclear Weapons and Global Conflict:

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Question: "Do you think NATO was worried about this becoming a global war or nuclear conflict?"

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Context: Given the nuclear capabilities of Russia and the escalating tensions with NATO, this question touches on the fears of a broader, potentially nuclear, conflict. Putin's response could provide insights into Russia's stance on the use of nuclear weapons and its perception of NATO's concerns about escalation.

These questions are provocative due to their direct challenge to Putin's actions and rationale, their exploration of sensitive geopolitical issues, and their potential to elicit responses that could have significant international repercussions.

Most important statements

Here we get the most important statements:

Here we embed them into the notebook with WL formatting (YMMV):

Based on the extensive interview, the top 3 most important statements that stand out for their significance in understanding the broader context of the conversation and the positions of the involved parties are:

Vladimir Putin's assertion on NATO expansion and its impact on Russia : Putin's repeated emphasis on NATO's expansion as a direct threat to Russia's security and the broken promises regarding NATO not expanding eastward. This is a critical point as it underlines Russia's longstanding grievance and justification for its actions in Ukraine, reflecting the deep-seated geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West.

Putin's readiness for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine : Putin's statements indicating a willingness to negotiate a settlement for the conflict in Ukraine, blaming the West and Ukraine for the lack of dialogue and suggesting that the ball is in their court to make amends and come back to the negotiating table. This is significant as it portrays Russia's stance on seeking a diplomatic resolution, albeit under conditions that are likely to favor Russian interests.

Discussion on the potential global implications of the conflict : The dialogue around the fear of the conflict in Ukraine escalating into a larger, possibly global war, and the mention of nuclear threats. This highlights the high stakes involved not just for the immediate parties but for global security, underscoring the urgency and gravity of finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

These statements are pivotal as they encapsulate the core issues at the heart of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the geopolitical dynamics with NATO and the West, and the potential paths towards resolution or further escalation.

Part 1: separation and summary

In the first part of the interview Putin gave a historical overview of the formation and evolution of the "Ukrainian lands." We can extract the first part of the interview "manually" like this:

Alternatively, we can ask ChatGPT to make the extraction for us:

Here is the first part of the interview according to the LLM result:

Remark: We can see that LLM "spared" nearly 2/3 of the "manually" selected text. Below we continue with the latter.

Summary of the first part

Here is a summary of the first part of the interview:

In the first part of the interview between Tucker Carlson and President Vladimir Putin, Carlson questions Putin about his statement made on February 24, 2022, regarding the conflict in Ukraine . Putin clarifies that he never stated the U . S . would launch a surprise attack on Russia, prompting a discussion on the historical context of Russia - Ukraine relations . Putin traces the origins of the Russian state to 862 and discusses the historical development of the region, including the significance of Kiev and Novgorod, the adoption of Orthodoxy in 988, and the eventual fragmentation and reunification of Russian lands .

Putin explains the historical ties between Russia and Ukraine, mentioning the Polonization efforts in the region and the eventual appeal of the people in parts of what is now Ukraine to Moscow for protection in the 17 th century . He provides a detailed historical account of the territorial changes and political maneuvers over the centuries, including the role of the Bolsheviks in establishing Soviet Ukraine and the allocation of territories post - World War II .

Throughout the interview, Putin emphasizes the historical connections between Russia and Ukraine, arguing that Ukraine as it is known today is an artificial state shaped by Soviet policies . He presents documents to support his claims and discusses the complex history of the region to explain the current conflict . Carlson questions the relevance of this historical context to the present situation and why Putin did not assert these claims earlier in his presidency . Putin responds by highlighting the historical basis for Russia' s position and the creation of Soviet Ukraine with territories that had different historical affiliations .

Part 2: thematic parts

Here we make an LLM request for finding and distilling the themes or the second part of the interview:

Here we tabulate the found themes:

Interview's spoken parts

In this section we separate the spoken parts of each participant in the interview. We do that using regular expressions, not LLMs.

Here we find the positions of the names of the participants in the interview text:

Here separate the the interview text into spoken parts:

Remark: We assume the parts by the participants have corresponding order and counts.

Here combine the spoken parts and tabulate the first 6:

Here we tabulate all spoken parts of Tucker Carlson (and consider all of them to be "questions"):

Search engine

In this section we make a (mini) search engines of the interview parts obtained above.

Here are the steps:

Make sure the interview parts are associated with unique identifiers that also identify the speakers

Find the embedding vectors for each part.

Create a recommendation function that:

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Filters the embeddings according to specified type

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Finds the vector embedding of given query

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Finds the dot products of query-vector with the part-vectors

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Pick the top results

Here we make an association of the interview parts obtained above:

Here we find the LLM embedding vectors of the interview parts:

Here is a function to find the most relevant parts of the interview for a given query (using dot product):

Here we find the top 3 results for a query:

Flavored variations

In this section we show how the spoken parts can be rephrased in the style of certain political celebrities.

Carlson  Clinton

Here are examples of using LLM to rephrase Tucker Carlson's questions into the style of Hillary Clinton:

Putin  Trump

Here are examples of using LLM to rephrase Vladimir Putin's answers into the style of Donald Trump:

References

Articles

[AA1] Anton Antonov, "Workflows with LLM functions" , (2023), RakuForPrediction at WordPress .

[AA2] Anton Antonov, "Day 21 â€“ Using DALL-E models in Raku" , (2023), Raku Advent Calendar blog for 2023 .

[OAIb1] OpenAI team, "New models and developer products announced at DevDay" , (2023), OpenAI/blog .

[SW1] Stephen Wolfram, "The New World of LLM Functions: Integrating LLM Technology into the Wolfram Language", (2023), Stephen Wolfram Writings.

Packages

[AAp1] Anton Antonov, WWW::OpenAI Raku package, (2023), GitHub/antononcube .

[AAp2] Anton Antonov, WWW::PaLM Raku package, (2023), GitHub/antononcube .

[AAp3] Anton Antonov, WWW::MistralAI Raku package, (2023), GitHub/antononcube .

[AAp4] Anton Antonov, WWW::MermaidInk Raku package, (2023), GitHub/antononcube .

[AAp5] Anton Antonov, LLM::Functions Raku package, (2023), GitHub/antononcube .

[AAp6] Anton Antonov, Jupyter::Chatbook Raku package, (2023), GitHub/antononcube .

[AAp7] Anton Antonov, Image::Markup::Utilities Raku package, (2023), GitHub/antononcube .

[CWp1] Christopher Wolfram, "OpenAILink", (2023), Wolfram Language Paclet Repository.

Videos

[AAv1] Anton Antonov, "Jupyter Chatbook LLM cells demo (Raku)" (2023), YouTube/@AAA4Prediction .

[AAv2] Anton Antonov, "Jupyter Chatbook multi cell LLM chats teaser (Raku)" , (2023), YouTube/@AAA4Prediction .

[AAv3] Anton Antonov "Integrating Large Language Models with Raku" , (2023), YouTube/@therakuconference6823 .

[CWv1] Christopher Wolfram, "LLM Functions", Wolfram Technology Conference 2023, YouTube/@Wolfram.