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We use metaphors all the time. To quote George Lakoff, we live by them.

We use analogies some of the time. They���re particularly useful when we���re wrapping our heads around something new. By comparing something novel to something familiar, we can make a shortcut to comprehension, or at least, categorisation.

But we need a certain amount of vigilance when it comes to analogies. Just because something is like something else doesn���t mean it���s the same.

With that in mind, here are some ways that people are describing generative machine learning tools. Large language models are like���

���a blurry JPEG of the web,���fly-by-wire avionics,���drum machines,���an octopus.