How LLMs Are Made: A Fun and Simple Guide

Jonathan Moss Author

Feb 10, 2025 |

How LLMs Are Made: A Fun and Simple Guide

Big computer brains, called Large Language Models (LLMs), help us chat with computers. But how do they learn? Let’s break it down!

How LLMs Learn

1. Reading Lots of Words

   • LLMs read tons of books, websites, and stories.
   • They learn which words go together, like "cat" and "meow."

2. Breaking Words into Pieces

   • Instead of seeing whole words, LLMs chop them into small bits called "tokens."
   • This helps them understand words better!

3. Getting Even Smarter

   • After learning words, they get extra training to answer questions.
   • This makes them sound more like a real person!

4. Practicing a Lot

   • They practice by chatting with people and fixing mistakes.
   • The more they practice, the better they get!

How Do LLMs Talk?

• Guessing the Next Word: They don’t "think" like us, but they predict what comes next in a sentence.
• Big Computer Brains: They have lots of "neurons" like our brains, but made of math!
• Answering Questions: When you ask something, they look at words and try their best answer.

Do LLMs Think Like People? Nope!

• They Find Patterns: They see what words usually go together, but they don’t have feelings.
• They Guess: Every word they say is just a smart guess.
• They Don’t Truly Understand: They don’t know what words mean like we do—they just recognize patterns.

How Do We Teach LLMs?

• Reading Lots of Stories: They learn from books, websites, and more.
• Fixing Mistakes: People help train them by correcting wrong answers.
• Big Computers Help: They need lots of computer power to get smarter!

Important Words to Know

• LLM: A big computer brain that chats like a person.
• Token: A small piece of a word that computers understand.
• Training: Teaching LLMs how to talk and answer questions.
• Guessing: LLMs don’t think—they just predict what comes next.

Final Thoughts

LLMs are super cool, but they don’t actually think. They are just smart guessing machines that learn from tons of words. The real magic is how we use them to help people! 

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