GuideBeginnerRamez's Pick
What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work?
Stephen Wolfram
About This Resource
Stephen Wolfram's characteristically thorough deep-dive into the mechanics of ChatGPT. While longer than most introductions, it rewards careful reading with genuine understanding. Wolfram traces the path from basic neural networks to modern language models, explaining why these systems produce such remarkably human-like text -- and where the limits lie.
What you'll learn
- Neural network fundamentals explained from first principles
- How next-token prediction creates coherent text
- The role of training data in shaping model behavior
- Why ChatGPT can seem creative while following statistical patterns
- Philosophical questions about what 'understanding' means for AI
What to Read Next
GuideBeginner
A Very Gentle Introduction to Large Language Models without the Hype
Clear, accessible overview of what LLMs actually are and how they work -- no jargon.
GuideBeginner
What Actually IS AI? A No-Jargon Guide for Clinicians
Plain-language explainer of AI, ML, LLMs, and generative AI. No code, no math -- just the concepts you need.
PaperAdvanced
Scaling Laws for Neural Language Models
The paper that proved 'bigger is better' - showing that model performance improves predictably with more data and compute.
What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work?
