MLST: Why scaling prediction cannot create intelligence — 2-hour deep dive with Alexander Mattick

Machine Learning Street Talk · rss · 2026-09-21

Machine Learning Street Talk hosts Fraunhofer IIS researcher Alexander Mattick for a 2-hour discussion arguing inference is the thread running through modern ML. He covers Monte Carlo, GFlowNets, energy-based models (rarely worth the compute), diffusion, normalizing flows and flow matching; calls JEPA and 'world model' closer to branding than technical categories; argues current deep learning theory predicts too little to guide practice; and explores RL, constrained MDPs, control theory vs RL, the Bitter Lesson, and why prediction is not control. Full timeline and references included.

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