# Think of language models like ChatGPT as a “calculator for words”

<https://simonwillison.net/2023/Apr/2/calculator-for-words/>

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## What Jamie wrote

This is a super interesting mental model for thinking about ChatGPT and LLMs.

> I like to think of language models like ChatGPT as a **calculator for words**.
> 
> This is reflected in their name: a "language model" implies that they are tools for working with language. That's what they've been trained to do, and it’s language manipulation where they truly excel.
> 
> Want them to work with specific facts? Paste those into the language model as part of your original prompt!

It does however make me wonder how quickly that "calculator" turns into a spreadsheet, and from their into something even more. The parameters of this mental model may have a very short shelf life.

## Facts

- Kind: [Page](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/kinds/page/)

## Appears in

- [WT249: Weekly Thing #249 / GPT, Privacy, Crypto](https://weekly.thingelstad.com/archive/249/), Notable

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## Elsewhere

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