💌 Not subscribed to this newsletter yet? Quickly press the button to continue receiving my newsletter!

How Do AI Language Models Work? An Explanation Everyone Can Understand

Have you ever wondered how ChatGPT or other AI language models actually work? In this explanation, I will guide you step by step through the basics in a way that everyone can follow.

The Basics: A Prediction Machine

Imagine you are playing a game where you have to guess the next word. If someone says "Donald," you probably say "Trump." With "Kamala," you say "Harris." This is exactly what a language model does! Essentially, it's a huge prediction machine that, based on what has been said before, tries to guess what should logically follow.

The Importance of Context

Take, for example, the word "Jack." What should follow? That totally depends. In a movie discussion, you might think "Nicholson," in music "Johnson," and in a proverb "of all trades." This shows why context is so important. A language model doesn't just look at the last word, but also at everything that came before to understand what the right prediction would be.

Super Words: Words with Superpowers

When you read the word "jack," you just see four letters. But a language model sees much more. It makes it into a sort of "Super Word" with all possible meanings and contexts embedded in it. When the model encounters "Jack Nicholson," it creates something like: "Jack-Nicholson-Hollywood-actor-known-from-The-Shining-Lakers-fan-signature-smile."

The Great Meaning Map

The clever part is that the language model creates a kind of mental map of all the words and meanings it knows. Think of Google Maps, but for language. Words that are similar in meaning are close together on the map. You can "travel" across the map from meaning to meaning, and between two known points, you can find new meanings.

How It Works in Practice

When you ask a question to a language model, the following happens in lightning-fast steps:

• The model reads your text and analyzes each word in context

• It converts words into Super Words with extra meaning

• It searches the meaning map to find where they fit

• It predicts what should logically follow

• This process repeats for each new word

The Practical Application

By understanding how language models work, you can use them better. Be specific in your questions and provide relevant context. Understand that the model always tries to predict what would logically follow, and use it as a tool, not an oracle. The model is not a magical machine, but a very advanced prediction system that recognizes patterns in language.

In Conclusion

Language models are fascinating because they show how language works: as a continuous spectrum of meanings, where everything is connected. They're not perfect, but they are incredibly powerful if you know how to use them well. By understanding how they work, you can use them better for your own goals - whether that's for study, work, or just out of curiosity.

The source I used: https://every.to/chain-of-thought/how-language-models-work-ea805869-4778-4fb8-ad8f-2d10cc439b4c

💌 Not subscribed to this newsletter yet? Quickly press the button to continue receiving my newsletter!