Understanding Large Language Models -- A Transformative Reading List

Large language models have taken the public attention by storm – no pun intended. In just half a decade large language models – transformers – have almost completely changed the field of natural language processing. Moreover, they have also begun to revolutionize fields such as computer vision and computational biology. Since transformers have such a big impact on everyone's research agenda, I wanted to flesh out a short reading list (an extended version of my comment yesterday) for machine learning researchers and practitioners getting started. The following list below is meant to be read mostly chronologically, and I am entirely focusing on academic research papers.