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mechanistic interpretability (3)
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study critique (270)
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God Help Us, Let’s Try To Learn About Mechanistic Interpretability Techniques

Scott explains current mechanistic interpretability techniques for understanding AI cognition, from linear probes to emotion vectors, showing they're useful for monitoring but insufficient for controlling AI behavior or ensuring safety.

acx
Sep 8, 2026 5,478 words 481 likes 273 comments Read Read

Next-Token Predictor Is An AI's Job, Not Its Species

Scott argues that dismissing AI as 'just a next-token predictor' is like dismissing humans as 'just reproduction machines' - both confuse the optimization process that shaped an entity with how that entity actually thinks.

acx
Feb 26, 2026 2,403 words 430 likes 433 comments Listen · 17 min Read Read

The New AI Consciousness Paper

Scott reviews a paper by leading researchers attempting to determine AI consciousness through computational theories, critiques their conflation of access and phenomenal consciousness, and predicts society will inconsistently ascribe consciousness to AIs based on their social roles rather than their underlying architecture.

acx
Nov 20, 2025 4,085 words 492 likes 979 comments Listen · 26 min Read Read
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