Scott Alexander plays chess against GPT-2, an AI language model, and discusses the broader implications of AI's ability to perform diverse tasks without specific training. Longer summary

Scott Alexander describes a chess game he played against GPT-2, an AI language model not designed for chess. Despite neither player performing well, GPT-2 managed to play a decent game without any understanding of chess or spatial concepts. The post then discusses the work of Gwern Branwen and Shawn Presser in training GPT-2 to play chess, showing its ability to learn opening theory and play reasonably well for several moves. Scott reflects on the implications of an AI designed for text prediction being able to perform tasks like writing poetry, composing music, and playing chess without being specifically designed for them. Shorter summary