Topic · Themes
Understanding AI: all our articles
All 122 Alyriaz articles on the “Understanding AI” topic: news, analysis and explainers, newest first. To stay up to date, you can get an alert as soon as a new article on this topic is published.
The flaw that makes AIs decrypt the secret thoughts of their big sisters
A research paper shows that the encrypted reasoning blocks emitted by major providers are interchangeable between models within the same ecosystem, allowing a weaker model to decrypt in plain text the reasoning of a more powerful one. We explain the flaw and its consequences.
What is reinforcement learning? Learning through trial, error, and rewards
Reinforcement learning involves learning through interaction and reward rather than by imitating examples. We explain the principle, its spectacular successes, and why it lies at the heart of current AI behaviour.
What does your AI know about you?
AI assistants are storing more and more information about their users. We explain what is stored, the difference between memory and training, and the settings that really matter.
Why an AI doesn't really understand humour
AI models can produce decent jokes but often miss the second layer of meaning. We explain why humour is a particularly revealing edge case for how these systems work.
AI models are retiring: what it means when you've built on top of them
Providers regularly retire their older models from the service. We explain why, what it means for those who have built on them, and how to protect yourself.
The memory shortage threatening AI, and which is set to push up the price of your next phone
The memory demand from AI data centers is putting strain on the entire market, with knock-on effects on consumer electronics prices. We explain the mechanism and its consequences.
What is a "foundation model"? The building block on which everything else is built
The term "foundation model" refers to a general-purpose model trained at very large scale, then adapted to many tasks. We explain this concept and why it underpins the entire sector's economy.
The art of asking a good question is becoming the core skill.
In an era where answers are abundant and free, value shifts towards the ability to formulate the right question. We explore what this means in practice, and why it is harder than it seems.
The Academy is no longer read; it is practiced.
A quiz checks that information has been retained. It does not check that you would know how to use it on a Monday morning. The Academy now has 109 exercises where you produce something, and where Mnémosyne responds to you.
AI and the justice system: what is already happening in the courts
AI is entering the courtroom through several doors at once: law firms, courts, and self-represented litigants. Here's a rundown of what works, what has already gone wrong, and the questions of principle it raises.
AI or search engine: which one to use, and when?
Many people have swapped web search for AI, or the other way round, without distinguishing what each does well. We offer a clear split, with the cases where one is clearly superior to the other.
What is "red teaming"? Attacking your own model before others do.
Red teaming involves deliberately attacking your own system to uncover its vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Here's how it applies to AI, what it uncovers, and why it isn't enough.
Can an AI be mistaken in good faith?
Error, lie, hallucination: our moral vocabulary presupposes an intention that machines do not possess. We explore what this absence changes in how we should talk about their failures, and why words matter here.
What is a "system prompt"? The invisible instructions that shape every response
Every AI assistant receives, before your message, an invisible set of instructions that defines its role and limits. We explain what a system prompt is, what it contains, and why it accounts for many surprising behaviours.
RAG or fine-tuning: which one should you choose to connect an AI to your data?
To adapt an AI to your data, two approaches are at odds: RAG and fine-tuning. We explain the difference, when to use one or the other, and why most projects pick the wrong method.
Why an AI doesn’t know yesterday’s news
The knowledge cutoff date marks the end of a model's training data. We explain what it implies, why it produces subtle errors, and how real-time search changes the game without solving everything.
How to choose your AI in 2026: the no-marketing guide
With around ten models of similar capabilities, how do you choose? We suggest five concrete criteria that genuinely matter, beyond performance rankings, for both personal and professional use.
What is "quantization"? The compression that fits a giant model on your machine
Quantization involves storing a model's parameters with less precision, which significantly reduces its size and hardware requirements. We explain the mechanism, common levels, and where the acceptable limit lies.
What is MCP? The protocol that lets an AI plug into your tools
The Model Context Protocol has become the standard enabling AI models to connect to external tools and data sources. We explain what it does, why it was adopted so quickly, and the security questions it raises.
Training and inference: the two costs of AI that everyone keeps confusing
There's a lot of talk about the cost of training models, but rarely about the cost of their daily use. We explain the difference between training and inference, why the latter now dominates the AI economy, and what that implies.
Other topics in “Themes”
- AI agents77 articles
- Code and developers22 articles
- Images and video20 articles
- Voice and music15 articles
- Robots and self-driving cars9 articles
- Health15 articles
- School and education16 articles
- Jobs and work34 articles
- Laws and regulation59 articles
- Cybersecurity32 articles
- Safety and risks51 articles
- Privacy and data45 articles
- Disinformation and deepfakes34 articles
- Energy and climate15 articles
- Chips and data centers40 articles
- Research and science43 articles
- Money and markets53 articles
- AI prices and costs43 articles
- Geopolitics and sovereignty58 articles
- Open source and local AI44 articles
- Culture and creativity42 articles
- Everyday life32 articles
- Philosophy and ethics97 articles
- Benchmarks and comparisons30 articles