Hinton: we design the learning algorithm, but we don't really understand how neural networks work

austinc3301 · x · 2026-10-03

Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, says that while we designed the learning algorithm—"a bit like designing the principle of evolution"—the complex neural networks it produces when interacting with data are good at doing things, but we don't really understand exactly how they do them. The poster adds that any good ML researcher will admit interpretability lags far behind model complexity, likening it to knowing what the brain is made of without understanding how it works.

Original post →

More from AGI Musings

AGI Musings channel →