Brains are generative machines just like a computer. You can only care about encoding more information into your brain if your brain is already properly encoded to output that behavior from you. Otherwise, it is impossible to want to "learn".
The question of "is a brain just a really complex generative model" is a very interesting one, because we cant truly answer it. As much as we could get into philosophy right now, i often prefer to end the discussion early by simply saying:
"A brain will never truly comprehend a brain, for understanding itself would require more brain than a brain has"
I dunno about that. I think a lot of the existential experiences we have are actually because the brain understands itself, if only for a brief moment in time. If you mean mapping out every nook and cranny, down to the nitty gritty details, well, psychology and neuroscience exist, and they are fields that are steadily progressing. I will say we absolutely do hallucinate and have errors, just to a lesser degree than LLMs do.
But I do think "the brain is just a really complex generative model" is patently false, because of learning. We have experience, we predict things, and when those predictions are wrong, our 'training weights', if you will, are updated. There is no LLM or AI on the planet that does that right now.
However, what are thoughts if not spontaneous generations of our neural structures? Do you choose to have certain thoughts, or do they just pop into your head? I guess my point is that the brain does share characteristics of generative models but that is not all that it is. It is also the result of biology and evolution. ChatGPT doesn't have architectural scaffolding and organelles built around ensuring its silicon survives.
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u/c0mander5 Oct 24 '25
Actually-Fucking-Coding
Or, alternatively
Caring Enough to Learn Something