Lesson 517 of 1234
How AI Counts Words to Pick the Next One
AI doesn't think — it picks the next word by guessing what fits best.
Lesson map
What this lesson covers
Learning path
The main moves in order
- 1The big idea
- 2next-word prediction
- 3probability
- 4language model
Concept cluster
Terms to connect while reading
Section 1
The big idea
When AI writes a sentence, it picks one word at a time. For each spot, it guesses what word usually comes next based on tons of writing it has read. It's like a super fast game of fill-in-the-blank.
Some examples
- After 'Once upon a' the AI guesses 'time' because that's what usually comes next.
- After 'peanut butter and' the AI guesses 'jelly' because most sentences go that way.
- If you start with 'The cat sat on the' the AI might pick 'mat' or 'rug'.
- AI doesn't know what the words mean — it just knows which ones tend to go together.
Try it!
Open a chatbot and start a sentence like 'My favorite snack is'. Don't finish it. See what the AI picks. Try a few times — does it pick the same word every time?
Key terms in this lesson
End-of-lesson quiz
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