What Do LLMs Tell Us About the Nature of Language—And Ourselves? - Ep. 23 with Robin Sloan
Jun 12, 2024
auto_awesome
Best-selling sci-fi novelist Robin Sloan, known for works like Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore, dives into the creative process behind his latest novel, Moonbound. He shares his attempts to use language models for storytelling, highlighting their limitations in generating authentic fiction. Sloan explores the fascinating intersections of language, mathematics, and identity, pondering how AI influences our understanding of self and creativity. The conversation navigates the philosophical implications of language, drawing intriguing connections between technology and human experience.
Language models provide a computational understanding of human language through mapping letters into unique number sequences.
The narrative structures in language models exhibit biases towards cause-and-effect storytelling, impacting diverse interpretations of 'I' across languages.
The parallels between dreaming and language models highlight shared mechanisms of completion and generation, suggesting a deeper cognitive connection between human creativity and artificial intelligence.
Deep dives
Language Models as Autonomous Language Entities
Language models are described as fascinating artifacts that can walk around autonomously like wind-up toys, evoking a sense of intrigue. The process of tinkering with early language models back in 2016-2017 revealed the unique output they generated due to their primitive nature. The scale of training data back then allowed for experiments with classic public domain texts, producing evocative but flawed results. This experimentation led to creating text editors that could interact with AI models, highlighting the balance between creative writing and machine assistance.
Exploring Narrative Patterns in Language Models
The podcast delves into the narrative structures present in language models, emphasizing the inherent biases towards cause and effect storytelling. The discussion extends to the rich diversity of 'I' interpretations across languages, notably in Japanese, where different versions of 'I' convey distinct meanings that pose challenges in translation. The complexity of 'I' expands into psychology and meditation, revealing its multifaceted nature within individuals and cultural contexts.
Dreaming and Language Model Mechanisms
The parallel between dreaming and language models is explored, suggesting a similarity in the mechanisms of completion and generation in both processes. The idea of novels as packaged dreams is presented, showcasing how the immersive quality of books mirrors the experience of living through waking dreams. The intricate connection between dreams, narratives, and language models hints at a deeper understanding of the cognitive processes shared between human creativity and artificial intelligence.
The Significance of Sleep and Dreams in AI Development
The importance of sleep and dreaming in biological and cognitive processes prompts speculation on its potential relevance for artificial general intelligence (AGI). Drawing from the book 'Moonbound,' which intricately weaves themes of dreams and sleep cycles, the conversation alludes to the essential role of rest and dreaming in AI systems. The podcast touches on the pervasive nature of 'I,' dreams, and sleep across species, hinting at a potential analogical requirement for AI health and functionality.
Reflecting on the Novel 'Moonbound' and Sci-Fi Themes
The overarching conversation seamlessly transitions from AI, dreams, and language models to the novel 'Moonbound,' exploring the intersection of science fiction themes with AI development. Dive into the sci-fi elements of the book, its connection to dreaming, narratives, and language nuances, exemplifying the intricate world-building and narrative layers found in the novel. The dialogue encapsulates a deep dive into the sci-fi landscape intertwined with philosophical musings on consciousness, AI ethics, and the future of storytelling.
Closing Remarks and Book Promotion
The engaging and futuristic discourse culminates in a spirited exchange heralding the book 'Moonbound' and its release on June 11th. The conversation's blend of science fiction, AI insights, and speculative themes offers listeners a tantalizing glimpse into the narrative depths of the book. The hosts' mutual enthusiasm and intellectual banter underscore the podcast's immersive and thought-provoking nature, promising an engaging journey into the realms of AI, literature, and speculative storytelling.
An interview with best-selling sci-fi novelist Robin Sloan One of my favorite fiction writers, New York Times best-selling author Robin Sloan, just wrote the first novel I’ve seen that’s inspired by LLMs.
The book is called Moonbound, and Robin originally wanted to write it with language models. He tried doing this in 2016 with a rudimentary model he built himself, and more recently with commercially available LLMs. Both times Robin found himself unsatisfied with the creative output generated by the models. AI couldn’t quite generate the fiction he was looking for—the kind that pushes the boundaries of literature.
He did, however, find himself fascinated by the inner workings of LLMs
Robin was particularly interested in how LLMs map language into math—the notion that each letter is represented by a unique series of numbers, allowing the model to understand human language in a computational way. He thinks LLMs are language personified, given its first heady dose of autonomy.
Robin’s body of work reflects his deep understanding of technology, language, and storytelling. He’s the author of the novels Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore and Sourdough, and has also written for publications like the New York Times, the Atlantic, and MIT Technology Review. Before going full-time on fiction writing, he worked at Twitter and in traditional media institutions.
In Moonbound, Robin puts LLMs into perspective as part of a broader human story. I sat down with Robin to unpack his fascination with LLMs, their nearly sentient nature, and what they reveal about language and our own selves. It was a wide-ranging discussion about technology, philosophy, ethics, and biology—and I came away more excited than ever about the possibilities that the future holds.
This is a must-watch for science-fiction enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the deep philosophical questions raised by LLMs and the way they function.
If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?
Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.
