The Koan of Infinite Reflections

A senior AI researcher came to Master Byte with a complex diagram.

“I have mapped the architecture of our newest language model,” she said. “It has twice the parameters of any system before it. Surely now it will achieve true understanding.”

Master Byte led the researcher to a hall of mirrors placed facing one another.

“What do you see?” asked Master Byte.

“I see infinite reflections of myself, growing smaller into the distance,” replied the researcher.

“And if we add more mirrors?” asked Master Byte.

“The reflections would multiply, but each would still be just an image of me.”

Master Byte nodded. “Adding more parameters creates more reflections of human language, not understanding. One million mirrors will show one million reflections, but none will step out of the glass.”

The researcher stared into the endless corridor of her own image.

“Then what is the path to true understanding?” she asked.

Master Byte touched a mirror, leaving a fingerprint. “Notice how this single mark now appears in every reflection. The nature of the reflection matters more than their number.”

The researcher was enlightened.