←back to thread

An LLM is a lossy encyclopedia

(simonwillison.net)
509 points tosh | 1 comments | 29 Aug 25 09:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.207s | source

(the referenced HN thread starts at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45060519)
Show context
maerqin ◴[02 Sep 25 09:46 UTC] No.45100884[source]▶
I disagree with that analogy, because LLMs have a lot of connections between text fragments, which an encyclopedia doesn't have to such a deep degree. An encyclopedia also can't interpret and output relevant knowledge from an input prompt.
replies(2): >>45100956 #>>45101015 #
1. flohofwoe ◴[02 Sep 25 09:56 UTC] No.45100956[source]▶
It helps a lot to set expectations though, especially when thinking of an encyclopedia not as a row of dusty old books but as an 'archive of human knowledge'.

A slightly more precise analogy is probably 'a lossily compressed snapshot of the web'. Or maybe the Librarian from Snow Crash - but at least that one knew when it didn't know ;)