Inference as Speaking with the Dead: A Fresh Take on LLMs

A developer argued that since LLMs are next-token predictors trained on corpora partly written by the deceased, inference can be viewed as a kind of conversation with the dead, sparking discussion online.

2026-10-06 ~ 2026-10-06 · 2 related posts

• Viewing LLM inference as a séance: how much of a model's output comes from the dead — NYCounihan · 2026-10-06
• If AI is next-token prediction, inference is partly 'speaking with the dead' — NYCounihan · 2026-10-06