Using Sum Types in Elixir with `instructor_ex`

Samrat Man Singh explores the use of the `instructor_ex` library to generate structured responses from language models such as OpenAI's GPT models. Specifically, he addresses how the library can return sum types—structures that are 'one of' multiple types—through the use of Ecto schema and custom Ecto types. The library works by creating a JSON schema based on the Ecto schema, potentially augmented with validations to ensure that the responses match expected shapes. By creating schemas for different question types, such as multiple-choice or slider scale questions, one can use the Instructor library to automatically generate survey questions of different formats. The detailed example provided showcases how Elixir's flexibility allows for defining custom types to represent complex data relationships, facilitating interaction with machine-generated content.