How Large Language Models Actually Work: A Plain Guide

Large language models, the technology behind many popular chatbots and writing tools, have become part of everyday digital life.

At their core, large language models are prediction engines.

The model learns to make these predictions by processing enormous amounts of written material, such as books, articles, and web pages.

This is an important distinction: the model is not looking up facts in a database, and it does not understand meaning the way a human does.

Why Models Sound Confident but Get Things Wrong