Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST)

Large Language Models and Emergence: A Complex Systems Perspective (Prof. David C. Krakauer)

181 snips
Jul 31, 2025
David Krakauer, President of the Santa Fe Institute, delves into the distinction between knowledge and intelligence, advocating that true intelligence solves new problems with limited information. He critiques AI's dependence on massive data, labeling it as "really shit programming." Krakauer challenges the tech community's notion of emergence in large language models, emphasizing that genuine emergence involves profound internal changes in systems. He also discusses cultural evolution as a rapid form of adaptation, warning against over-reliance on AI that risks diminishing human cognitive skills.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

True Intelligence Means Efficiency

  • Intelligence is best defined as doing more with less input.
  • AI today confuses vast knowledge with true intelligence which adapts to novelty efficiently.
INSIGHT

Brains Break Evolutionary Limits

  • Evolution has an information acquisition speed limit defined by generation time.
  • Brains and epigenomes evolved to process rapidly changing information outside genomic constraints.
INSIGHT

Culture Enables Rapid Evolution

  • Culture stores knowledge externally and accelerates evolution beyond genetic limits.
  • This external storage allows rapid information accumulation and variation without loss of prior knowledge.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app