Developing a GPT-4 Turbo App with TruLens: A Complete Guide

Developing a GPT-4 Turbo App with TruLens Evals: Step-by-Step Guide

Welcome, fellow innovators and curious minds! I'm Sanchay Thalnerkar, and I'm thrilled to guide you through the fascinating world of AI and customer service integration. Before we roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty with code and configurations, let's take a moment to understand the building blocks of our project. We're about to embark on a journey that marries the analytical prowess of TruLens with the powerful AI capabilities of GPT-4 Turbo. So buckle up, as we prepare to dive deep into the mechanics of creating intelligent systems that will transform the way we approach customer service.

Part 1: Theoretical Foundations

GPT-4 Turbo: The AI Language Model

GPT-4 Turbo is an advanced language model developed by OpenAI. It's known for its ability to understand and generate human-like text based on the input it receives. Key features include:

Advanced Natural Language Processing: Ability to comprehend and respond to a wide range of language-based queries.
Scalability: Suitable for high-volume and real-time applications.

TruLens Evals: Model Insights and Fine-Tuning

TruLens Evals offers analytical tools to gain insights into AI models. It's essential for:

Understanding Model Decisions: It helps in deciphering the 'why' behind model outputs.
Fine-Tuning: Provides feedback mechanisms for improving model accuracy and relevance.

Flask: The Web Framework

Flask is a lightweight WSGI web application framework, chosen for its simplicity and flexibility, making it ideal for prototyping and small to medium-sized applications.

Part 2: Setting Up the Project

Now, let's set up our project environment and integrate these technologies into a functional application.

Step 1: Installing Python and Flask

Install Python: Ensure Python 3.6 or later is installed on your system. You can download it from python.org.
Install Flask: Flask can be installed using pip, Python's package installer.
Run: pip install Flask

Step 2: Creating a Virtual Environment

Using a virtual environment is best practice for Python development. It keeps dependencies required by different projects separate by creating isolated environments for them.

Create a Virtual Environment: Navigate to your project directory and run:
python -m venv venv
Activate the Virtual Environment:
On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
On Unix or MacOS: source venv/bin/activate

Step 3: Installing OpenAI and TruLens Evals Libraries

Install OpenAI Python Library: This library allows you to interact with OpenAI's GPT-4 Turbo model.
Run: pip install openai
Install TruLens Evals: For analytical and fine-tuning capabilities.
Run: pip install trulens_eval

Step 4: Setting Up Your Flask Application

Flask is a lightweight WSGI web application framework. It's chosen for its simplicity and flexibility, making it ideal for prototyping and small to medium-sized applications.

Now, let’s delve into a detailed breakdown of the entire app.py script, including both the code and an explanatory narrative for each section.

1. Import Statements and Flask App Initialization

This segment of the code imports necessary libraries and initializes the Flask application. Libraries like flask, os, openai, and chromadb are imported to handle web requests, environment variables, AI functionalities, and database operations. The TruLens related imports are crucial for providing analytical insights and feedback on model performance. The app object is an instance of the Flask class and serves as the central object for the Flask web application.

2. Configuration and Client Initialization

Here, the environment variable for the OpenAI API key is set. This is a critical security practice, ensuring sensitive information is not hard-coded in the application. Following this, instances of OpenAI, Tru, and fOpenAI are created. These instances are used to interact with OpenAI's API, TruLens's evaluation, and feedback functionalities.

3. TruLens Feedback Setup

This part of the code sets up various feedback mechanisms using TruLens. Groundedness is used to evaluate the groundedness of the AI's responses. The feedback instances (f_groundedness, f_qa_relevance, f_context_relevance) are configured to measure different aspects of the AI responses, such as relevance and context. This is crucial for ensuring the AI's output is accurate and reliable.

4. The RAG_from_scratch Class

The RAG_from_scratch class is a custom implementation for the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) model. It has three primary methods: retrieve, generate_completion, and query. retrieve fetches relevant documents based on a query, generate_completion uses OpenAI's model to generate a response based on the context and query, and query combines these functionalities to provide a complete answer. The @instrument decorator is likely used for logging or monitoring purposes within the TruLens framework.

5. Flask Routes

This section defines two routes for the Flask application. The first route is the home route ("/") that renders the index.html template, providing the frontend interface. The second route ("/process_query") handles POST requests. It processes the input data, validates it, and then uses the RAG model to generate a response. In case of an error, it returns an error message. This setup is crucial for the application's interaction with users, handling their queries, and providing responses.

6. Flask Application Execution

This final part of the script is a standard Python idiom for running a script as a standalone program. It ensures that the Flask application runs only if the script is executed directly (not imported as a module). The app.run method starts the Flask web server with the specified host and port.

Creating a Frontend for Your Flask Application

Step 1: Setting Up the templates Directory

Flask applications use a templates directory to store HTML files. These templates are then rendered using Flask's routes. Here’s how to set it up:

Create the Directory: In the root of your Flask project, create a new folder named templates.
HTML File: Inside this templates directory, you'll create an HTML file named index.html. This file will serve as the main interface of your application.

Step 2: Crafting the index.html File

Now, we'll create and dissect the index.html file that will be your application's frontend. Below is the complete HTML code with explanations for each section.

Detailed Breakdown:

DOCTYPE and HTML Tags: These define the document type (HTML5) and the language used.
Head Section: Includes meta tags for character encoding and viewport settings, the title of the web page, and internal CSS for styling.
Body Section: Contains the interactive elements of your web page:

A container div for layout.
Form elements (<form> and </form>) for user inputs.
Checkboxes for selecting feedback options.
A submit button to process the query.
Elements for showing a loader during processing and displaying results.

JavaScript: Handles the logic to send data to the Flask backend and display the results. It uses the Fetch API to asynchronously communicate with the server.

Step 3: Integrating with Flask

Ensure your Flask application is set up to render this template by using render_template('index.html') in your Flask routes. Handle the data sent from this frontend in your Flask routes, process it, and send back the results.

Demonstrating the Flask Application

With our frontend and backend fully set up, it's time to bring our Flask application to life. Let's run it locally and see how it performs in action. This demonstration will give you a clear picture of how your application looks and functions in a real-world scenario.

Running the Application Locally

Start the Flask Server:
Open your terminal or command prompt. Navigate to the root directory of your Flask project.
Run the command: flask run.
Accessing the Application:
Open a web browser of your choice. Go to http://localhost:5000. This is the default address for Flask applications running locally. You should now see the main page of your application, as defined in index.html.

Viewing the Demo

Once the application is running, you can interact with it by entering information in the text area and input field, selecting the feedback options, and clicking the "Process Query" button to see how the application processes the input and returns results.

A Walkthrough of Our Flask App's UI

Imagine walking into a cozy cafe with a clear sign that says "Customer Service Model Response Checker". That's our application's title, sitting right at the top of the page, giving off a welcoming vibe that says, "You're in the right place." Just below the title, you've got a spacious area to jot down notes or in our case, the details about a university or product. It's like a digital notepad, ready for you to spill all the beans. Right underneath, there's a neat little box where you can pop in a question. It's like asking the barista, "Hey, would this coffee work for my all-nighter?" And you see those little tick boxes? They're your way of telling the barista exactly how you like your coffee. Groundedness? That's the strong foundation of your brew. QA Relevance? It's making sure the coffee hits the right notes. Context Relevance? It's about getting the perfect coffee for the time of day. Once you've poured out all the details and ticked your preferences, there's that big, blue "Process Query" button. It's like placing your order with a confident tap. Now, the magic happens: the barista whips up your order. But instead of a coffee, you get a crisp, clear answer in the space below where you first scribbled down your notes. No mess, no fuss, just a straight-up response served just how you asked for it. And there you have it - a user interface that's as straightforward and pleasant as ordering your favorite drink at a cafe, designed to make getting information as simple and enjoyable as possible.

TruEra Analysis

Once you've got your Flask app up and running, you'll notice that the TruLens dashboard is also live and kicking on port 4000:

Dashboard started at: http://192.168.1.12:8501
Network URL: http://192.168.1.12:8501
External URL: http://103.220.81.94:8501

You'll be greeted with a dashboard full of stats and insights, all thanks to the magic happening behind the scenes with TruLens.

Exploring the TruLens Evaluation Dashboard

After you launch your Flask app, you'll be able to access the TruLens Evaluation Dashboard on port 4000. Here's what you'll find when you navigate to the dashboard:

A Snapshot of Your App's Performance

The dashboard presents a sleek and informative snapshot of how your app is performing. Think of it as a report card showing different grades for your app's features.

App Leaderboard: At the top of the dashboard, you'll see a leaderboard. It's like a high-score table in video games, except here it's for your app's feedback metrics.
Feedback Values: The leaderboard showcases average feedback values ranging from 0 (could be better) to 1 (top-notch). These numbers give you an idea of what's working well and what might need a tweak or two.
App Records: You'll see entries for different versions of your app, each with their own statistics. Look at the "CS_RAG_v1" and notice the number of records, latency, cost, and token usage. It's a quick way to check the app's efficiency and resource usage.
The feedback scores for "Groundedness", "Context Relevance", and "Answer Relevance" are right there too, with color-coded indicators for a quick visual cue: green for good, yellow for okay, and red for needs attention.

Why This Matters

This dashboard is where you can monitor and understand the intricacies of your app's interactions. By keeping an eye on these stats, you can optimize your app to provide better responses, improve performance, and manage your resources more effectively.

Conclusion

By reaching the end of this tutorial, you've not only built a functional Flask app integrated with OpenAI and TruLens Evals but also gained the insights to monitor and improve it. The TruLens Evaluation Dashboard is your mission control, giving you the data and feedback you need to take your app to the next level. So, go ahead and dive into those numbers — your app's future is looking bright!