Vīta Brevis, Wit Artefāctōrum Ætērna Podcast

You now understand that Generative AI works by predicting one word at a time, using statistical methods to build responses. But here's what seems impossible: how does this simple process of picking word after word somehow create complex arguments, detailed explanations, and what feels like genuine reasoning? The incredible leap that's happening is remarkable. The AI starts with your question, pred...

Ever wondered how artificial intelligence really works beneath the hype? Behind every AI breakthrough lies a deceptively simple idea waiting to be understood. Follow Ashlock Holmes through conversations with Dr. Clodson as they ponder and decode the mysteries of machine intelligence, one dialogue at a time. In this inaugural case, Holmes claims to have revolutionized computing by teaching machines...

You probably know from previous episodes here or other sources that Generative AI works by predicting the next word in a sequence. Simple enough. But here's what doesn't add up: if it's just guessing what word comes next, how does that turn into the back-and-forth conversation that's the essence of using AI chatbots? Picture the puzzle this creates. Word prediction sounds like it should produce ra...

You're having what feels like a natural conversation with an AI such as a chatbot, asking follow-up questions, building on previous topics. It responds as if it understands exactly what you've been discussing. But how does this actually work? What's really happening behind the scenes when you chat back and forth? Picture the fundamental puzzle of what you're experiencing. You're typing messages to...

It’s been 20 episodes now on this journey as part of exploring my ‘technocentric’ view of human progress and innovation, where both ‘artefactual’ and ‘institutional’ developments fall under the purview of the word ‘technology’ defined in its broadest sense . We started at the ‘very beginning’ by exploring the first tools devised by man, made of what we’d now think of as crude stone. Let’s step bac...

You've been there. You're filling out an online form, and the website throws a tantrum because you included a space in your phone number, or your email address isn't quite the format it expects. You know exactly what you meant, but the computer acts like you've spoken in ancient hieroglyphics. Why are machines so impossibly picky about how we communicate with them? Picture the absurdity of this re...

When you type a message to an AI, something extraordinary happens that most people never think about. You're sending it nothing but symbols—letters, spaces, punctuation marks. Yet somehow, it responds as if it actually understands what you meant. But how can a machine extract meaning from what are essentially just squiggles on a screen? Picture your computer's word processor or a search engine. Th...

Look around you right now and name three things you can see. A chair, perhaps. A window. Your phone. Simple enough. But here's a question that will make your brain hurt: how would you explain to a computer what any of those things actually mean ? Think about it for a moment. You know instantly what a chair is—not just the word, but everything it represents. Comfort, sitting, furniture, rest, desig...

When you first chat with an AI, something feels wonderfully wrong. The responses seem so thoughtful, so surprisingly human, that you almost forget you're talking to a machine. But then that uncomfortable question creeps in: is this thing actually understanding me, or is it just a very clever parrot? Picture a parrot that's learned to mimic human speech perfectly. It can repeat phrases, even string...

This is an AI-generated typical 2-person dialog that summarizes the core ideas I covered in my 10-part ‘econ’ series (2024) about AI and Economics . Reading the actual articles themselves can be even more enjoyable, I promise. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashstuart.substack.com

This is a brief dialog between Bryan and Brenda that summarizes the core ideas of my article of the same title in my 10-part ‘conc’ series (2024) about Fundamental Concepts in Generative AI . The whole series, and each article therein, can be found using the links below: AI Fundamental Concepts * Are Language Models just Parrots? * What is AI - The improbable story of the probabilistic revolution...

This is a NotebookLM-generated typical 2-person dialog that summarizes the core ideas I covered in my 10-part ‘conc’ series (2024) about AI Fundamental Concepts, specifically Generative AI. Be ready for a high dose of meta irony as this is an AI-generated summarization of my explanation of how AI works with the AI voices using ‘we’ to mean humans! The whole series, and each article therein, can be...

What if one of the most revolutionary breakthroughs in human progress happened when someone discovered how to make something permanent that was never meant to last? Sometimes the greatest innovations come from refusing to accept fundamental limitations. From looking at constraints that seem absolute and asking: what if they don't have to be? Picture someone facing a challenge that seems impossible...

In the last few episodes I’ve touched upon a few important human innovations. I now want to show, as part of demonstrating the power and value of accumulation and integration of innovation, that these did not necessarily occur all in isolation, that they eventually came together to define a new age, the Bronze Age. I have touched upon this idea before, and will... Please go to m y Substack to read...

What if the most transformative breakthrough in human progress came not from a single flash of brilliance, but from learning how to blend forces that were never meant to work together? Innovation rarely happens in isolation. The most revolutionary advances often emerge when separate discoveries start breeding with each other, when individual breakthroughs begin forging unexpected alliances. When e...

In the last episode, after having touched previously upon how humans domesticated plants and animals, we came to discuss that supreme epitome of speed: the horse. Let’s now look at another this-time-nonliving enabler of speed, and of much more, one that turned things around for us like no other. A Circular Problem This particular example of human innovation, central as it has been to so much...Ple...

What if one of the most fundamental innovations in human progress was hiding in plain sight all along? Sometimes the most revolutionary breakthroughs aren't about discovering something new. They're about seeing something that was always there in a completely different way. About recognizing a pattern that turns everything around. Picture someone struggling with a problem that seems to have no solu...

The last two episodes have chronicled a rather important phenomenon in the history of technology, in the annals of human progress, in the story of how we got to where we are: domestication. The first of the two, agriculture, is however less seen as domestication, though that’s what it is, perhaps because the next one from there, taming animals, is easier to relate to, and certainly more challengin...

What if the most transformative partnership in human progress began with someone staring at an insurmountable problem? We all face limitations. Physical boundaries that seem impossible to cross. Distances too far to travel. Burdens too heavy to carry. Challenges that dwarf our natural capabilities. Most of the time, we accept these constraints as simply the way things are. But occasionally, someon...

So far in this series, we have looked at some of the earliest human innovations, our deviations from the pristine state of affairs found in nature, as part of understanding what makes us, humans as a species, different. But this story cannot be told without talking about our non-human friends, because they too are an integral part of the human story. When we normally use the term... Continue readi...

What if the most remarkable innovations in human progress weren't made from stone, metal, or any material at all? Most of the time, when we think about breakthroughs, we imagine crafting tools, shaping materials, building devices, creating solutions and establishing institutions. We think about taking raw resources and transforming them into something useful. But there's another kind of innovation...

One reason I’m calling this series and my approach ‘technocentric’ is that this is focused on exploring and understanding the role of intelligence in human-driven progress. And on this journey thereof, we’ve barely scratched the surface. Let’s next focus on another huge change in the story of human progress that would in many ways change things forever. It should give us food for thought! When it...

What if the greatest leap in human progress required something that goes against every natural instinct we possess? Most innovations build on what came before. They're improvements, refinements, logical next steps. But occasionally, something comes along that demands a completely different way of thinking. Something that asks people to abandon everything they know works, and bet their survival on...

If you haven’t read the last 8 articles that lead up to this one, of course I’d exhort you to do so, for therein lies the path to the greatest enjoyment of this series; at the very least, it might help to take a quick glance at the last one to get a sense of where we are. In any case, I intend to ensure each article can be savored on its own without necessarily hopping to other ones, and so be it...

The last 4 episodes have had the intention of setting the stage for what I am talking about in this series. Let’s take stock, let’s briefly recap what I’ve said so I can now present my plan for what’s to come next on here over the next few months. This journey is fundamentally about.... So, next begins the real part of the journey! In so far as this is a historical outline of human progress, I hav...