Getting Started with Semantic Kernel and C#
An AI orchestration and retrieval augmentation generation (RAG) framework for .NET
This article is my entry as part of C# Advent 2023. Visit CSAdvent.Christmas more articles in the series by other authors.
Introducing Semantic Kernel and the Kernel Object
Generative AI systems use large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPT 3.5 Turbo (ChatGPT) or GPT-4 to respond to text prompts from the user. But these systems have serious limitations in that they only include information baked into the model at the time of training. Technologies like retrieval augmentation generation (RAG) help overcome this by pulling in additional information.
AI orchestration frameworks make this possible by tying together LLMs and additional sources of information via RAG. Additionally, AI orchestration systems can provide capabilities to generative AI systems, such as inserting records in a database, sending emails, or calling out to external systems.
In this article we’ll look at the high-level capabilities building AI orchestration systems in C# with Semantic Kernel, a rapidly maturing open-source AI orchestration framework.
