Primer
Seven short lessons: the model file, retrieval, tools, MCP, provenance, agency, and the building they run in.
What the model knows and doesn't
The model is a file from training, and the chat is a short working space. Neither is a live view of an inbox or a records system.
Retrieval: giving it something to read
A PDF, an invoice, or a search hit is put in the window. The model reads what it is handed. It does not go get the file, and it does not file anything back.
Tools: letting it do something
The model calls a function that runs somewhere else. That function may only look. It may also change a record.
MCP: the standard plug
MCP is not the capability. It is the shape of the connector, so a tool built once can work with more than one model.
Provenance: retrieved, computed, generated
A retrieved date, a calculated date, and a generated date can use the same tone. They are not the same kind of claim.
It looked up the flight. It booked the flight.
Looking up a flight and booking a flight can sound like the same sentence. They are not the same action.
There is no cloud, there is a building
Rows of machines in a warehouse, next to a lot of electricity. Each query is a few seconds of that building.
The primer, in order
- 01 What the model already holds, and what it does not.
- 02 A document put in the window is something to read, not something to do.
- 03 A function the model can call may only look, or it may change a record.
- 04 MCP is the shape of the connector, not the capability.
- 05 A retrieved fact, a calculated result, and a generated sentence can look the same.
- 06 Looking up a flight is not the same as booking one.
- 07 There is no cloud. There is a building and a power line.