Comment by throwanem

The more reliably predictive mental model is if one were to take about two-thirds of a human brain's left hemisphere, wire it to simulated cranial nerves, and then electrically stimulate Broca's and Wernicke's areas in various patterns ("prompts"), either to observe the speech produced when a novel pattern is tried, or by known patterns to cause such production for some other end.

It is a somewhat gruesome and alienating model in concept, and this is intentional, in that that aspect helps highlight the unfamiliarity and opacity of the manner in which the machine operates. It should seem a little like something off of Dr. Frankenstein's sideboard, perhaps, for now and for a while yet.