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[March 9, 2025]

How to explain an LLM to an 8 year old
Does it do the thinking for you?

* * *

I thought introducing my kids to their phones would be the most terrifying. But it's not. 

It's AI. 

So, what's the simplest way I can explain what an LLM is to an eight-year old:

First, what is it? 

It's not ChatGPT. It's an LLM. A large language model. 

Too fancy. Let's call it a Large Language Machine. That's a little easier.

An LLM is a machine that you put words into and words come out.

What does the machine do? It guesses words. So it looks something like this:

Words --> Guess --> Words

If you guess something are you sure it's right? 

No. 

It's a guess, right? It is maybe correct, yes, maybe. But how do you know? 

You check.

So when you read words that come from an LLM what do you do first? 

Check.

How do you check? 

Think

Ah, that thing. Between your ears. Thinking. 

So does an LLM replace your brain? 

No.

Does an LLM do the thinking for you?

No.

So what is an LLM?

It's a machine that guesses words.

This is going to be his world.


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