I’m guessing you aren’t just asking how an LLM works, but attempting to make the point that humans are also statistical next-token predictors or something?

Humans make predictions, that doesn’t mean that’s all we do.

No, my point is that "statistical next-token predictor" is an empty phrase that doesn't really explain much. Markov chains are statistical next-token predictors as well and nevertheless, no one would confuse a markov chain with a conscious being (or deem the generated texts in any way useful for that matter).

The question is how the prediction works in detail, and those details are still being researched, as Anthropic does here, and the research can yield unexpected results.