51¶¯Âþ

Letter: Does AI really understand what it's saying?

Published 20 May 2026

From Jacqueline Christmas, Crediton, Devon, UK

I’m afraid that Colin Nicholson is mistaken in thinking AI understands the consequences of nuclear war. Large language models (LLMs) don’t understand anything. They just produce sequences of words that are statistically plausible. What he has probably come up against is a human-imposed guard rail that tries to stop the LLM from giving out dangerous content – “tries” being the operative word (Letters, 25 April).

Issue no. 3596 published 23 May 2026

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with 51¶¯Âþ events and special offers.

Sign up
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop