Explainers

AI researchers are using techniques inspired by neuroscience to study how language models work — and to reveal how perplexing they can be.

Neural networks power today’s AI boom. To understand them, all we need is a map, a cat and a few thousand dimensions.

A simple primer to the 19 most important concepts in artificial intelligence.

When pigeons outnumber pigeonholes, some birds must double up. This obvious statement — and its inverse — have deep connections to many areas of math and computer science.

A popular hypothesis for how the brain clears molecular waste, which may help explain why sleep feels refreshing, is a subject of debate.

Ten years ago, researchers proved that adding full memory can theoretically aid computation. They’re just now beginning to understand the implications.

Emmy Noether showed that fundamental physical laws are just a consequence of simple symmetries. A century later, her insights continue to shape physics.

In the late 19th century, Karl Weierstrass invented a fractal-like function that was decried as nothing less than a “deplorable evil.” In time, it would transform the foundations of mathematics.

Hypothetical devices that can quickly and accurately answer questions have become a powerful tool in computational complexity theory.