What is a Large Language Model?
You've seen what it can do with tools like ChatGPT. Now, learn the surprisingly simple secret behind how it "thinks."
Think of it as a super-powered autocomplete.
An LLM's core job is not to "understand" or "know" things in the human sense. Its primary function is to predict the most statistically likely next word in a sequence, based on all the text it has ever read.
It learns by reading the internet.
An LLM is trained on a colossal amount of text data from books, articles, websites, and code. During this training, it doesn't memorize facts; it learns the incredibly complex statistical relationships between words, phrases, and concepts.
This one simple skill unlocks powerful abilities:
Writing & Content
It can write essays, emails, and poems by predicting word after word.
Conversation
It can "chat" by predicting a likely response to your question.
Coding
It can write code by predicting the next symbol in a programming language.
But there's a catch...
Because it's only predicting, an LLM doesn't have a concept of "truth." This can lead to "hallucinations"—confidently stated falsehoods—and it can reflect the biases present in its training data. It's a powerful tool, not an all-knowing oracle.
It's All About Probability.
A Large Language Model is a marvel of scale and statistics. By mastering the simple task of predicting the next word, it unlocks a world of complex capabilities that are changing how we work and create.
Next: Explore the Tools Built on LLMs →