Debate rages over whether LLMs truly think or just predict next words

A viral debate on X questions whether LLMs truly understand or merely predict the next word. Developers countered that human speech also selects words from probability distributions, and that human thought itself is just the brain 'simulating convincingly.'

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

• "Your brain is also simulating the words": the doing-vs-simulating LLM debate — ctjlewis · 2026-10-06
• Debunking "LLMs just simulate speech": your brain simulates too, developer argues — ctjlewis · 2026-10-06