
MIT CSAIL Associate Professor Jacob Andreas walks listeners through how LLMs like ChatGPT evolved from academic curiosities to industry-disrupting technologies.
Reflecting on the transformations he has observed in AI research, Professor Andreas discusses how some ideas—like linking NLP research to cognitive science—have taken a backseat, while others—like the importance of large-scale training data—remain central.
He offers insights on AI use cases, the emergence of models like DeepSeek, and the critical role of human oversight in AI deployment. Acknowledging both the excitement and concerns surrounding AI, Professor Andreas believes that educators and industry alike face a challenge in keeping pace with the ‘moving target’ of AI progress.
Plus: learn how AI can be used to decode the language of sperm whales!
MIT's CSAIL Alliances Podcast is your guide to how AI & computer science research impact how we live, work, play, and learn. Listener discounts, meet the host, and more: csail.mit.edu/podcast
For a full, uncut video version of this show (shot in Professor Andreas' MIT CSAIL office!), watch on YouTube: