By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 06/10/2026We know that molecule A reliably treats pathology B, but not *why*, and while that *why* is the subject of ongoing research, it's not necessary that the *why* be known before the molecule can be given to ailing patients. 1172
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 06/10/2026But these phenomena are off-limits to "symbolic AI" (the previously ascendant kind of "AI," that was supplanted by today's "AI"). That kind of AI only really performs when it can operate over a model describing the theory of why A causes B (and not just the fact that A causes B for reasons unknown). 1191
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 06/10/2026That's where the current kind of "AI" comes in. The major differentiator between the current "AI" and its immediate predecessor is that *the current "AI" dispenses with models of reality*. It is (in the jargon of the "Big Data" bubble that led to it) "theory-free." 1294
