he stands in a lovely park, sea is not far, importunate towns of X, Y and Z are easily over reached
Why does AI feel so human if it’s just a “calculator for words”? […]
Most language users are only indirectly aware of the extent to which their interactions are the product of statistical calculations.
Think, for example, about the discomfort of hearing someone say “pepper and salt” rather than “salt and pepper”. Or the odd look you would get if you ordered “powerful tea” rather than “strong tea” at a cafe.
The rules that govern the way we select and order words, and many other sequences in language, come from the frequency of our social encounters with them. The more often you hear something said a certain way, the less viable any alternative will sound.
In linguistics, the vast field dedicated to the study of language, these sequences are known as “collocations”. They’re just one of many phenomena that show how humans calculate multiword patterns based on whether they “feel right” – whether they sound appropriate, natural and human.
