The Analogy
How AI Builds Its Response
Autocomplete on your phone, but trained on the entire internet. AI doesn't compose an answer. It predicts the next word, then the next, then the next. It doesn't know facts -- it knows what word usually comes next.
Use the arrows below, the dots above, or your keyboard arrow keys to move through the stages.
Stage 1 -- Probability Competition
Which Word Wins?
The capital of France is
The model didn't look up this fact. "Paris" has 92% probability because of pattern frequency. Pattern matching, not knowledge.
Stage 2 -- Building Token by Token
One Word at a Time
Once upon a time, there was a
Click "Generate" to see the next token predictions
One token at a time. Each new token changes the next prediction.
Stage 3 -- Temperature
Predictable or Creative?
The best way to learn is by
Precise
Balanced
Creative
Temperature: 0.7
Multiple options are viable. The model usually picks "doing" but sometimes surprises you. Good balance of quality and variety.
Stage 4 -- The Hallucination Seed
When Patterns Lie
The first person to walk on Mars was
Nobody has walked on Mars.
The pattern predicts a name. The model doesn't know the answer is wrong -- it just knows what token fits the pattern "first person to walk on [place] was." This is hallucination.