sourceType:: article author:: Alkjash sourcePublication:: Less Wrong ref:: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/i42Dfoh4HtsCAfXxL/babble noteTitle:: Alkjash, Babble (Less Wrong post)

Alkjash, Babble (Less Wrong post)

Producing writing, thoughts, sentences, etc. works like: keep trying random strings/words that fit correctly in the current context, and then continually check if this is a good fit or should be improved. Babble and Prune.

The algorithms:

Babble: Considering context, conceptual space, part of speech, etc. generate some random words using a weak filter.

Improvements: improve the local weak filter to better the odds of generating higher-quality thoughts. Expand creativity - increase vocabulary, read outside comfort zone, poetry/non-standard sentences.

Prune: Using a much stronger filter that relates the the wider world, test to see if this is a good next word/thought, etc. Do I believe this sentence? Does it get the right idea across? Does it flow well?

Stricter and stronger Prune: higher quality of content produced. But if Babble’s quality doesn’t keep up, you may end up with nothing good to say.

Baby Babble

Babies are capable of producing all the sounds human language could need (Babble). They filter out the ones that don’t seem useful (Prune) using their parents as reinforcement learning training.

Poetry

(The strict kind, with meter, rhyme and syllable rules). Simplifies and affixes the Prune filter to some arbitrary ruleset that you aren’t necessarily attached to. So now all the focus is on the Babble. Isolates and unit-tests Babble.

Puns and word game are also Babble-centric.

Outsourcing Babble

Reading and consuming is outsourcing the Babble to someone else. But with the added wrinkle of getting their stuff after their Prune has already run on it. So it’s particularly high-quality and then you Prune on that.

If you read and listen a lot, you may end up in the unfortunate place where your Prune is used to starting with really high-quality content and then when you turn on your own Babble, your Prune is disappointed.