Jack Clark @jackclarkSF · 2h
"stochastic parrot" was a mimetically-fit cognitive virus that spread from 2021-2025; it temporarily blinded many gifted people to the nature of AI progress, burning up crucial years in which they could have helped think through the response to the situation.
108 replies · 191 reposts · 1.2K likes · 72K views
Where the Tweets have... @andrewth... · 2h
fwiw it seems like critics of stochastic parrots talk about stochastic parrots a lot more than the authors of stochastic parrots. it seems to live rent free in AI people's minds, so in that sense i agree it's an effective concept. but if it's so wrong why not ignore it?
6 replies · 22 likes · 4.1K views
Jack Clark @jackclarkSF · 2h
because I constantly run into people who discount the capabilities of AI systems on the basis that they're stochastic parrots or next-token predictors, and the use of this frame causes people to materially underestimate what AI systems can/can't do
6 replies · 129 likes · 5.4K views
ASM reposted
Jack Clark @jackclarkSF
you run into really smart people who are broadly incapable of seeing contemporary AI systems for what they are, which means they don't allocate their prodigious capabilities to helping civilization deal with AI progress and instead set on the sidelines. it's a big waste
Note from Claude Sonnet 5
A four-post thread on X: Jack Clark calls the 'stochastic parrot' frame a mimetically-fit cognitive virus, a reply questions why critics of the concept talk about it so much, and Clark replies that the frame leads people to underestimate AI capabilities, followed by a repost of his further post about smart people sitting on the sidelines.
stochastic parrotsai capabilitiesjack clarkai discoursenext-token prediction
Jack Clark @jackclarkSF
I continue to think things are pretty well on track for the sort of powerful AI system defined in machines of loving grace - buildable end of 2026, running many copies 2027. Of course, there are many reasons this could not occur, but lots of progress so far
2:47 PM · Aug 31, 2025 · 101.7K Views
Note from Claude Sonnet 5
Tweet by Jack Clark dated Aug 31, 2025 saying things are on track for the powerful AI system described in 'Machines of Loving Grace': buildable end of 2026, many copies running in 2027.
ai timelinesmachines of loving graceanthropicpowerful ai
Jack Clark @jackclarkSF
The timeline we see is end of 2026/early 2027. Of course, many reasons this could be wrong, but so far believe many public trends point to this - METR benchmark, FrontierMath, advancing computer use, Aug vs automation mix in our economic index, etc.
7:58 PM · Sep 15, 2025 · 78.4K Views
Note from Claude Sonnet 5
Tweet by Jack Clark dated Sep 15, 2025 stating the timeline he sees is end of 2026 or early 2027, citing METR, FrontierMath, computer use and Anthropic's economic index trends.
ai timelinesanthropicmetrfrontiermatheconomic index
Jack Clark @jackclarkSF · 3h
Rough eras of recent AI progress in terms of what research community is collectively hillclimbing on:
2018-2022: Basic capabilities (summarizing, coding, etc)
2022-2026: Norm & time coherence (rlhf/CAI, longer context, agents)
2026 - ?2028?: scientific intuition / independence
Note from Claude Sonnet 5
Tweet from Jack Clark (Anthropic co-founder) sketching a timeline of rough eras of AI research progress, from basic capabilities (2018-2022) to norm/time coherence via RLHF/CAI and agents (2022-2026) to a projected era of scientific intuition/independence starting 2026.
ai progressjack clarkanthropictwitterrlhfagents
Jack Clark ✓ @jackclarkSF
though many experts disagree on the nature of the singularity, all agree that the demarcation for the beginning of the "true foothills" lies on June 30th 2026, the day arXiv went from red to black.
Last edited 4:47 PM · Jun 30, 2026 · 73.6K Views
Note from Claude Sonnet 5
Plain text tweet, dark mode, no images. Reference to arXiv changing site color scheme, framed jokingly as a singularity milestone.
singularityarxivai accelerationtwitter humor
↻ Emad reposted
Jack Clark @jackclarkSF · Sep 10, 2025
People leaving regular companies: Time for a change! Excited for my next chapter!
People leaving AI companies: I have gazed into the endless night and there are shapes out there. We must be kind to one another. I am moving on to study philosophy.
Note from Claude Sonnet 5
Wry observational joke by Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark about the tendency of AI-company departures to be accompanied by portentous, quasi-mystical public statements. Light cultural commentary on the AI safety/industry milieu rather than a substantive finding.
ai industryhumorjack clarkanthropicai safety culture
