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How does a vision-language model connect an image encoder to an LLM, and where does it fail?

VLMs like GPT-4V and LLaVA bolt a vision encoder onto a language model through a projector. The signal is the image-tokens-as-prefix design, the alignment training, and the resolution and hallucination failure modes.

Updated Aug 2026 · Grounded in real Applied AI Engineer interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.

VLMs like GPT-4V and LLaVA bolt a vision encoder onto a language model through a projector. The signal is the image-tokens-as-prefix design, the alignment training, and the resolution and hallucination failure modes.

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