@WesternInfidels AI is a HUGE field. Neural network-based LLMs like these chat bots are only a minuscule part of it. The current hype will pass.

LLMs are pretty much just language statistics, yes. But, also, it is possible to make an AI using ironclad rules. It's called an "expert system". It's hard to make, because you can't just throw a humongous amount of data at it and expect it to learn - you have to talk to human experts, extract their knowledge and experience, and codify it in the form of IF/THEN/ELSE rules. Making an LLM is computationally expensive but there is very little human effort involved, so they are much easier to make - that's why they've become so popular.