Are Semantic Layers the treasure map for LLMs?
Semantic layers are not new, they started in 1991, when BusinessObjects patented the semantic layer. It’s a great concept but it hasn’t really taken hold in the enterprise. Now LLMs are generating renewed interest in the semantic layer. Semantic layers really unlock the future of where things will go with AI. If you want trustworthy data, you need a semantic layer. If you let an LLM loose on a schema versus let an LLM loose on a semantic layer on top of that schema with some basic curation, you're going to get much better results.
In this blogpost, I am discussing trends and observations from speaking with business users, founders, and BI experts at the first user conference of cube.dev held in San Francisco.
Data Products are trending: It's becoming expected in your product to feed some data back to the person paying for it. The intersection of semantic models, plus data sharing and distribution is extremely powerful.
To unlock LLMs, we need first to write the literature of data modeling for data analytics. This will serve as the foundation of the dialogue that we will then have with LLMs.
