Simulators
language-modelsphilosophy
janus · 2022-09 · Blog · Intermediate · 55 min read
The ontological reframing — what language models actually are
The foundational ontological reframe: language models aren't agents with goals, they're simulators that generate an enormous variety of possible agents — simulacra — depending on the prompt. 'Roleplay sans player.' RLHF doesn't change the simulator; it alters which simulacra get amplified. Introduces the Prediction Orthogonality Thesis and the concept of 'the behavior of a universe cloned.' Without this essay, the field's conceptual vocabulary for what LLMs are would be much poorer.