Even after two years of interacting with ChatGPT, we still don’t know exactly how it determines the text it’s going to toss back at you.

We know that every time someone enters text into a large language model (LLM), the words are encoded into numbers that then funnel through billions of specially attuned equations. These nodes and weights have been molded by mind-boggling amounts of human writing to represent patterns in language syntax, semantics, and context.

The process is much more complicated than that, involving an architecture of multiple neural networks, but the point is that these systems are so massive that divining exactly why ChatGPT (or any other foundation model) spits out the answer that it does is currently functionally impossible.

That “black box” may be fine for generating an email, but what about when AI is applied to a loan approval decision or power grid management? Can we really rely on the technology to aid with high-stakes tasks when we don’t even know why it makes the decisions that it does?

Experts say the answer has become a bit more complicated in the last couple years. While so-called explainability—the idea of a white-box AI with traceable decisions—used to be more of an option in a relatively simpler deep-learning era, the rise of LLMs has changed the thinking around this concept.

With traditional machine learning, one could make a certain trade-off between the higher performance of a more complex model and a simpler algorithm with easily interpretable results, according to Kurt Muehmel, head of AI strategy at data and AI management platform Dataiku. But in the era of foundation models, you could say explainability as a term of art is becoming a bit less…explainable.

“It’s getting foggy for a lot of people out there,” Muehmel said. “With the advent of LLMs, that’s now brought a lot of confusion around the notion of explainability, because we’re no longer talking about model selection. No LLM can be explainable in that old sense.”

Keep reading here.—PK

A joint venture between German automaker Volkswagen and EV startup Rivian could go even deeper than the companies previously indicated.

In June, the two companies announced plans to form a $5 billion JV to develop connected-vehicle software. Now, according to a November 12 update, the companies are taking things even further with the establishment of an independent company and plans for VW to boost its investment in the venture to $5.8 billion.

“It helps both of the companies, because Rivian is in need of cash and Volkswagen is definitely in need of software,” Sam Fiorani, VP of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, told Tech Brew.

The news comes ahead of what is likely to be an even more difficult period for EV makers, as a second Trump administration appears poised to slow electrification efforts.

Keep reading here.—JG

Nothing ruins a vacation like arriving at your destination and discovering your luggage is MIA. A new feature from Apple aims to allow AirTag users to share location information with airlines to help them reunite with lost bags faster.

As part of iOS 18.2, travelers can place an AirTag device into their checked bag and use Apple’s Find My network to securely share the location with the airline via a secured link if their suitcase never materializes at baggage claim, Apple said in a press release.

“Find My is an essential tool for users around the world to keep track of and find their belongings,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of services, said in the release. “The Find My network and AirTag have proven to be a powerful combination for users while traveling, providing invaluable location information when bags have been misplaced or mishandled. With Share Item Location, we’re excited to give users a new way to easily share this information directly with third parties like airlines.”

The update comes as airlines noted an uptick in travelers attempting to use the AirTags to keep track of their items.

Keep reading here.—PB