MCPs are Boring (or: Why we are losing the Sparkle of LLMs) - Manuel Odendahl

Introduction and Background 00:01

  • Manuel Odendahl introduces himself as a software engineer with 25 years of experience and discusses his journey with language models (LMs) since 2022.
  • He highlights his focus on backend coding and tool calling, emphasizing the capabilities of LLMs in generating structured code.

The Magic of Tool Calling 01:13

  • LLMs can produce language that effectively calls APIs and functions without needing to validate schemas.
  • The process involves the LLM determining which tools to use based on the context provided, such as checking the weather in San Francisco.

Challenges with Multiple Tools 03:23

  • When LLMs are given too many tools, they may struggle to decide which to use, leading to incorrect tool calls or schema misunderstandings.
  • The inefficiency of needing to repeat arguments already present in the context is highlighted, leading to increased token usage and costs.

Limitations of MCPs 07:30

  • MCPs (Machine Communication Protocols) are seen as limited and boring, failing to leverage the full potential of LLMs.
  • Suggestions for improvement include passing chat history and metadata to tool calls to enhance efficiency.

Enhancing User Interaction 10:12

  • Proposed improvements include allowing users to edit tool call inputs and outputs through a user-friendly interface, rather than relying solely on text windows.
  • The ability to create dynamic UI elements for user adjustments is emphasized.

The Power of Code Generation 12:30

  • LLMs excel at generating code and can create complex queries and functions, making them powerful tools for engineering tasks.
  • Manuel discusses how LLMs can create useful libraries and functions from simple queries, enhancing their utility.

The Future of LLMs and Tool Calling 18:13

  • The speaker advocates for the use of eval functions instead of traditional MCPs, suggesting they yield better performance and save resources.
  • He emphasizes the importance of creating reusable libraries and functions rather than limiting to static tool calls.

Conclusion and Call to Action 26:23

  • Manuel concludes that LLMs are capable of infinite creativity and encourages engineers to leverage LLMs to create versatile tools and solutions.
  • He urges the audience to think beyond basic tool calling and rediscover the "sparkle" of LLMs, inspiring a more innovative approach to their usage.