cd /news/artificial-intelligence/show-hn-decoding-the-language-machin… · home › topics › artificial-intelligence › article
[ARTICLE · art-14425] src=github.com pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Show HN: Decoding the Language Machine – AI video series and CC repo

A 21-year CTO and Ph.D. in computer science released three of six planned episodes in an educational AI video series, paired with a Creative Commons-licensed GitHub repository of scripts and artifacts. The project, built during a four-month sabbatical, aims to demystify large language models through a historical lens starting with Claude Shannon in 1948 and a scientific skepticism approach. The creator, a principal investigator in the NIST AI Safety Initiative Consortium, is seeking feedback on the series' usefulness and direction.

read1 min publishedMay 26, 2026

Hi HN! I released 3 parts of an educational video series (out of 6 planned), paired with a GitHub repository containing scripts and artifacts (released under Creative Commons).

- Main Site: [https://skepticcto.com/](https://skepticcto.com/) (includes related AI news articles)

- Code/Artifacts: [https://github.com/SkepticCTO/decoding_the_language_machine](https://github.com/SkepticCTO/decoding_the_language_machine)

- YouTube Channel: [https://www.youtube.com/@SkepticCTO](https://www.youtube.com/@SkepticCTO)

I’m a 21-year CTO, Ph.D. in CS (U Penn, 1999 in computer vision and ML), and a PI in the NIST AI Safety Initiative Consortium. I spent a 4-month sabbatical making this because I wanted to demystify how LLMs work through a historical perspective (starting in 1948 with Claude Shannon) and scientific skepticism.

The project is old enough to be fleshed out, but young enough to be able to pivot. Is it useful? What would you like to see? I look forward to questions and feedback.

Comments URL: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48279163](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48279163)

Points: 1
source & further reading
github.com — original article
── more in #artificial-intelligence 4 stories · sorted by recency
sponsored brought to you by zahid.host 4,200+ EU-deployed projects
reading about agents? ship yours in a single git push.

Run your AI side-project on zahid.host

EU-based hosting, git-push deploys, automatic HTTPS, no cold starts. Free tier with a custom domain — perfect for shipping the agent you just read about.

$git push zahid main
→ Live at https://your-agent.zahid.host ✓
Get free account → Pricing
from €0/mo · no card required
LIVE [news/show-hn-decoding-the…] indexed:0 read:1min 2026-05-26 · —