The Fiction Machine - Narrative Necessity vs. Factual Accuracy in AI Systems

This 45-minute conference talk from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics explores the concept of a "fiction machine" - a theoretical AI system capable of generating narrative continuations that prioritize storytelling coherence over factual accuracy. Explore with Léon Bottou from Meta as he examines fundamental questions about such systems: their computational capabilities, how they compare to logical and mathematical reasoning frameworks, and what implications they have for understanding both artificial and human intelligence. The presentation, delivered at the SIAM Conference on Mathematics of Data Science (MDS24), offers valuable insights into the intersection of narrative processing, AI development, and broader societal implications of systems that operate based on narrative necessity rather than truth.