I’m happy to announce that, from today forward, Credmark will no longer be using the word “models”. Instead we will use “transformations”

Models

As described in a colleague’s recent blog post, models and transformations are synonymous.

At Credmark we have always taken the most inclusive possible definition of a model. Our models could be simple functions, e.g., f(x) = x + 1, or as complex as a function that returns the historical performance of a portfolio.

This range of model types was confusing but manageable, until everyone started talking about AI models as if they were the only type of model.

AI Models

AI models are models that are created by processing training data through a framework. When these models are run over new data, a large collection of operations are performed on this data to produce an output. These operations weren’t directly coded by humans but, rather, derived from the training data.

AI models are therefore a very specific type of model. Unfortunately, explaining that f(x) = x + 1 and a recent ChatGPT model are in the same class is difficult, and likely to be misunderstood.

This is why we will only use transformation from now on.

Transformations

Transformations are models, but we are now going to leave the term “models” to AI practitioners.

“Transformations” is a better term for the data analytics field.

From Models to Transformations

We don’t intend to rewrite history. Blog posts that use the word model will not be updated. Everything else – documentation, code repository name, code, websites – will be updated, slowly.

This will be a little confusing, but we can’t update all these materials overnight. Please bear with us as we work through this transition.

About Credmark

Credmark runs a financial modeling platform powered by reliable on-chain data. We curate and manages DeFi data making it available via API and the Snowflake Marketplace around the globe and across industries.

Our community of quants, developers, and modelers actively build models for the DeFi community by leveraging our data API and tools. Join the growing community and together we will advance the next-generation financial system.