Ever asked ChatGPT a question and felt like it understood you? Or marveled at how AI can write, explain, or even argue convincingly? With help from legendary computer scientist and Mathematica creator Stephen Wolfram,1440 editor-in-chief and host Sony Kassam unpacks how large language models really work—how they predict the next word, why they sometimes hallucinate, and what the mechanics reveal about intelligence, language, and humanity.

Guest: Stephen Wolfram, founder and CEO of Wolfram Research and creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and Wolfram Language

Credits: 1440 Explores is a production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media, hosted by Sony Kassam. This episode was produced by Nicolo Majnoni. Our sound designer is Jay Cowit. The executive producer at Rhyme is Dan Bobkoff, and the executive producers at 1440 are Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald.

Background reading:

• What is ChatGPT doing and why does it work? https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/02/what-is-chatgpt-doing-and-why-does-it-work/
• Will AIs take all our jobs and end human history—or not? https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/03/will-ais-take-all-our-jobs-and-end-human-history-or-not-well-its-complicated/
• Generative AI space and the mental imagery of alien minds: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/07/generative-ai-space-and-the-mental-imagery-of-alien-minds/
• All the best resources on the internet about LLMs: https://join1440.com/t/large-language-models

Follow us for more curiosity-driven stories:

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About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed, helping curious people stay informed and inspired daily. We live in an era of limitless information, yet limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than the truth. The tools meant to expand knowledge often distort it. Enter 1440: a knowledge collective built on curiosity, connection, and care for the truth. Here, facts matter, thinking is valued, and people come together to understand the world. Curiosity isn’t just a trait—it’s a muscle. Exercised daily, it sharpens the mind, fuels discovery, and drives lifelong growth.

Join the movement: https://www.join1440.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every culture has them—restless spirits, haunted houses, things that go bump in the night. But why do we believe in ghosts? Psychologist and skeptic Dr. Chris French joins host Sony Kassam to explore the science behind the supernatural, from sleep paralysis and hallucinations to the brain’s pattern-making instincts. Together, they uncover why our minds see meaning—and sometimes ghosts—where none exist, and what that reveals about fear, memory, and our need to believe in something beyond the grave.

Guest: Dr. Chris French, head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Credits: 1440 Explores is a production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media, hosted by Sony Kassam. This episode was produced by Nicolo Majnoni. It was fact-checked by Meher Qazilbash. Our sound designer is Jay Cowit. The executive producer at Rhyme is Dan Bobkoff, and the executive producers at 1440 are Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald.

Background reading: https://join1440.com/t/ghosts

Follow us for more curiosity-driven stories:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1440daily
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1440daily
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1440Daily/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@1440daily

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed, helping curious people stay informed and inspired daily. We live in an era of limitless information, yet limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than the truth. The tools meant to expand knowledge often distort it. Enter 1440: a knowledge collective built on curiosity, connection, and care for the truth. Here, facts matter, thinking is valued, and people come together to understand the world. Curiosity isn’t just a trait—it’s a muscle. Exercised daily, it sharpens the mind, fuels discovery, and drives lifelong growth.

Join the movement: https://www.join1440.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alcohol is the world’s most popular drug—a molecule that can calm or excite and bond communities or tear them apart. We trace alcohol’s journey from ancient rituals to modern hangovers, uncover how it shaped civilizations, and dive into the neuroscience of how it affects your brain and body. With insights from leading experts, we ask: Given all that we know, why do humans continue to drink?

Guests:

• David Nutt, psychiatrist and professor of psycho-pharmacology at Imperial College in London, author of Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health, and cofounder of Sentia Spirits.
• Edward Slingerland, professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia and author of Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization.

Credits: 1440 Explores is a production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media, hosted by Sony Kassam. This episode was produced by Dan Bobkoff and Kim Nederveen Pieterse. It was fact-checked by Sanam Skelly. Our sound designer is Jay Cowit. The executive producer at Rhyme is Dan Bobkoff, and the executive producers at 1440 are Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald.

Follow us for more curiosity-driven stories:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1440daily
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1440daily
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1440Daily/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@1440daily

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed, helping curious people stay informed and inspired daily. We live in an era of limitless information, yet limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than the truth. The tools meant to expand knowledge often distort it. Enter 1440: a knowledge collective built on curiosity, connection, and care for the truth. Here, facts matter, thinking is valued, and people come together to understand the world. Curiosity isn’t just a trait—it’s a muscle. Exercised daily, it sharpens the mind, fuels discovery, and drives lifelong growth.

Join the movement: https://www.join1440.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Credit cards feel like magic—tap, swipe, approved. But behind that split-second ding is one of the most complex financial systems ever built. We unpack how your $5 latte triggers a global relay between banks and networks like Visa and Mastercard, trace the 1958 campaign that jump-started the credit card revolution, and reveal how a trillion-dollar system quietly shapes the way we spend. From interest rates to rewards points, this is the hidden story of money in motion—and how a small piece of plastic changed the world.

Guest:

Sean Vanatta, senior lecturer in financial history and policy at the University of Glasgow and author of Plastic Capitalism, Banks, Credit Cards, and the End of Financial Control.

Background reading:

https://join1440.com/t/credit-cards

Credits: 1440 Explores is a production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media, hosted by Sony Kassam. This episode was produced by Nicolo Majnoni. It was fact-checked by Sanam Skelly. Our sound designer is Jay Cowit. The executive producer at Rhyme is Dan Bobkoff, and the executive producers at 1440 are Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald.

Follow us for more curiosity-driven stories:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1440daily
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1440daily
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1440Daily/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@1440daily

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed, helping curious people stay informed and inspired daily. We live in an era of limitless information, yet limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than the truth. The tools meant to expand knowledge often distort it. Enter 1440: a knowledge collective built on curiosity, connection, and care for the truth. Here, facts matter, thinking is valued, and people come together to understand the world. Curiosity isn’t just a trait—it’s a muscle. Exercised daily, it sharpens the mind, fuels discovery, and drives lifelong growth.

Join the movement: https://www.join1440.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.