Search


	Podcast:		Astral Codex Ten Podcast
	Episode:		Next-Token Predictor Is An AI's Job, Not Its Species
	Category:		Technology
	Duration:		00:16:14
	Publish Date:		2026-04-02 01:07:00
	Description:		I. In The Argument, Kelsey Piper gives a good description of the ways that AIs are more than just "next-token predictors" or "stochastic parrots" - for example, they also use fine-tuning and RLHF. But commenters, while appreciating the subtleties she introduces, object that they're still just extra layers on top of a machine that basically runs on next-token prediction. I want to approach this from a different direction. I think overemphasizing next-token prediction is a confusion of levels. On the levels where AI is a next-token predictor, you are also a next-token (technically: next-sense-datum) predictor. On the levels where you're not a next-token predictor, AI isn't one either.
	Total Play:		0