Empowering Self-Learning of LLMs: Inner Knowledge Explicitation as a Catalyst

Shijue Huang, Wanjun Zhong, Deng Cai, Fanqi Wan, Chengyi Wang, Mingxuan Wang, Mu Qiao, Ruifeng Xu

Abstract: Self-learning of Large Language Models (LLMs) facilitates their advancement towards super-intelligence by training with self-synthesized experiences. However, a critical challenge is the amplification of hallucinations in generated data during iterative self-learning, underscoring the need for reliable data selection. To address this, we investigate the mechanism of Inner Knowledge Explicitation, which involves explicitly extracting the inner knowledge from memory of LLMs, to concurrently improves reasoning, and enables reliable self-learning data selection. This paper introduces a Self Knowledge Explicitation Learning (SKE-Learn) framework, which equips the LLMs with meta-skills to explicitly extract, verify and utilize inner knowledge for reasoning. By leveraging these meta-skills, SKE-Learn establishes a self-learning approach that ensures reliable selection of self-synthetic data. This approach enhances performance through iterative self-learning while mitigating the problem of hallucinations. Empirical results from six benchmarks demonstrate that Inner Knowledge Explicitation improves reasoning by serving as a more effective prompting method. Additionally, SKE-Learn, based on the verifiability of explicit knowledge, shows consistent performance improvements over multiple self-training iterations, with an average performance increase from 52.79% to 56.54% across all benchmarks. Furthermore, Inner Knowledge Explicitation provides explanation and intervention space during LLM's generation process.