Understanding how AI systems work inside (their 'lumps of irreducible computation') is not necessary for using them, just as understanding how horses work internally was not necessary for riding them; this is a return to how technology worked before the industrial revolution made it simple enough to understand.
normativepending
Speaker
Stephen WolframEvidence Quote
“when people were... riding horses... knowing how the horse works inside was not something you really cared about... we've been operating machines that are simple enough that we know what's going on inside... we're now back to a situation... we can't readily understand”
Source
The AI Expert: "Super AI Will Be Unstoppable!" – What’s Coming NEXT | Stephen Wolfram— Sean KimCreated: 8/11/2026, 5:32:55 AM
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