Definition
Plain language
Asking a model to answer in a fixed, machine-readable format instead of free-flowing text.
As stated in the literature
Constraining model generation to a specified schema (e.g. a JSON distribution over options), used here to elicit a described distribution rather than per-call samples.
Why it matters: This matters because a fixed, machine-readable format lets other programs reliably read and use the model's answers without guessing at messy free text.
For example, instead of a chatty paragraph, you might require the model to reply with a tidy list like {"yes": 60, "no": 40}.
Heard on the show
“And even describe-as-a-technique isn't new — a paper last year proposed asking the model for its distribution as structured output, and on this benchmark the two are statistically indistinguishable.”Episode 230 — Why AI Survey Panels Break Before the Dice Ever Roll