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In a stunning turn of events, information retrieval is being revolutionised not by a group of bespectacled Silicon Valley tech giants, but by the time-tested technique of our grandmothers: RAG technology, or Retrieve-A-Grandma.

Tech moguls were left scratching their heads as the tried-and-true technique of asking a grandma a question and getting a detailed, often unsolicited, response proved to be faster and more reliable than their billion-dollar AI programs.

“Grandmas have a nearly infinite storage capacity for birthdays, recipes, embarrassing childhood stories, and even that one actor’s name from that one movie you saw seven years ago,” explained Dr. Lois Parker, lead researcher on the RAG project.

In a test of endurance, Apple’s Siri was asked to recall a user’s 36 different passwords. The AI failed after the 12th. Grandma, meanwhile, was able to list not only all 36 passwords but also scolded her grandchild for not having visited in four months.

It’s not all smooth sailing though. Critics have pointed out that RAG technology can occasionally go off-topic, and its response times largely depend on if ‘Murder, She Wrote’ is on or not. But for now, it seems that the future of information retrieval may lie in the past.

AInspired by: How information retrieval is being revolutionised with RAG technology