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Current AI operates on symbolic (words) and semantic (context) levels. Mykhailo introduces the 'semiotic' layer, where AI can change a symbol's meaning globally, not just contextually. This allows for cohesive, system-wide rearrangements, like altering a character's name and having the entire narrative adapt perfectly.
The next major leap in AI may come from "world models," which aim to give LLMs an experiential, physical understanding of concepts like space and physics. This mirrors the difference between knowing facts from a book and having real-world experience.
Human understanding is the ability to connect new information to a global, unified model of the universe. Until recently, AI models were isolated (e.g., a chess model). The major advance with large multimodal models is their ability to create a single, cohesive reality model, enabling true, generalizable understanding.
Language is just one 'keyhole' into intelligence. True artificial general intelligence (AGI) requires 'world modeling'—a spatial intelligence that understands geometry, physics, and actions. This capability to represent and interact with the state of the world is the next critical phase of AI development beyond current language models.
The next major AI breakthrough will come from applying generative models to complex systems beyond human language, such as biology. By treating biological processes as a unique "language," AI could discover novel therapeutics or research paths, leading to a "Move 37" moment in science.
OpenAI's president predicts that AI will soon produce creative breakthroughs comparable to AlphaGo's Move 37, which redefined Go strategy. This will not be limited to science and math but will extend to domains like literature and poetry, unlocking novel forms of human creative understanding and ideation.
AI models are already incredibly powerful, but their creative potential is limited by simple text prompts. The next breakthrough will be the development of sophisticated user interfaces that allow creators to edit scenes, control characters, and direct AI with precision, unlocking widespread adoption.
The current state of AI development parallels early human evolution. Just as the invention of language enabled a step-function change in human collaboration and intelligence, AI agents now require their own 'language'—a set of shared protocols—to move beyond individual tasks and unlock collective problem-solving.
AI and formal methods have been separate fields with opposing traits: AI is flexible but untrustworthy, while formal methods offer guarantees but are rigid. The next frontier is combining them into neurosymbolic systems, creating a "peanut butter and chocolate" moment that captures the best of both worlds.
Instead of just expanding context windows, the next architectural shift is toward models that learn to manage their own context. Inspired by Recursive Language Models (RLMs), these agents will actively retrieve, transform, and store information in a persistent state, enabling more effective long-horizon reasoning.
The 2017 introduction of "transformers" revolutionized AI. Instead of being trained on the specific meaning of each word, models began learning the contextual relationships between words. This allowed AI to predict the next word in a sequence without needing a formal dictionary, leading to more generalist capabilities.