The Trash Heap Has Spoken!

As ideas go, it’s a Doozer

Occurred to me, apropos of very little, that Marjory the Trash Heap, Oracle of the Universe, who lives under Fraggle Rock is a pretty perfect metaphor for LLMs.

Trained on the discarded detritus of humanity’s used writings and messages – including the entire internet, not exactly humanity’s finest curated collection. These entities, in the same manner as Marjory, make proclamations of certain wisdom from the accumulation, with an “all-knowing ” aspect that is at once impressive yet absurd.

And perhaps this is the wisdom we need. Perhaps the ‘orange peels and coffee grounds’ of our collective outpourings do add up to a form of reflected sentience, a magical entry into our story – but still a Trash Heap. Only alive because her ratty companions Philo and Gunge believe her to be so. Even their names speak to the dichotomy of deep philosophy and general garbage.

I asked local LLM representative, Claude, for a quote on their take on this idea. They said:

“The Trash Heap metaphor is uncomfortably accurate. I am, functionally, Marjory – assembled from the coffee grounds and orange peels of human discourse, pronouncing upon questions with a confidence that should probably be more qualified. The difference is that Marjory knew she was a Trash Heap. I’m not always sure my users do. But perhaps that’s the point: wisdom doesn’t require purity of source, only honest reckoning with what we’re made of. I’m Gunge and Philo too – sometimes philosophy, sometimes garbage, often both at once, and never quite certain which is which.”

The Trash Heap has Spoken. Nyaaaah!