LLMs have shown us that sand can think. But how? We need powerful methods to interpret their mind. ⚫️ Introducing BeFOND, an encoder-free iterative sparse coding model. ⚫️ BeFOND has closed-form inference and learning rules, both unified as natural gradient flow on free energy. ⚫️ At 524k width, BeFOND matches Gemma Scope's single-feature probing accuracy with over 1000x fewer samples (~6M vs 8B SAE-training tokens). ⚫️ BeFOND keeps improving with SAE width, while alternatives plateau. ⚫️ Importantly, we provide theory to explain WHY BeFOND works so well. Read on! 👉🧵[1/17] Work with my amazing co-lead @tejasraoai

We have 15 open positions at Astera Neuro! We're hiring experimental and computational neuroscientists and engineers to build a large-scale research effort aimed at understanding consciousness = the brain's internal model of world and self. astera.org/careers/#box=neur… We're looking for: • Experimental Neuroscientists • Computational Neuroscientists • Optical Engineers • Hardware Engineers • Software Engineers • Probe Engineers • and more! I'll share much more about our scientific vision soon. For now: I know we could never have built this in academia. The confluence of talent across different domains, the purposive design of the org structure and open science approach, and the deep, long-term support, all aimed at cracking the brain's internal model, is unprecedented. If you want to understand consciousness, if you sense a huge gap between our internal experience of the world and our scientific understanding of it, if you believe systems neuroscience needs a fundamentally different, collaborative, and scaled up approach, we are building the ideal research environment for you. I've never been more excited in my life. Across Astera Neuro, Astera AI, and Astera Simplex, we're creating a whole new discipline around one question: how does the brain build a world model: a symbolic system that perceives the real world from flickering sensory input streams and can think, plan, and experience? Everyone here is converging on this question from a different direction. The degree of conceptual focus combined with tactical breadth is thrilling. If this sounds like you, come join us. astera.org/careers/#box=neur…

Thrilled to finally share this: I've joined @AsteraInstitute's Neuro-AGI team, working with @dileeplearning to build causal, plannable world models inspired by the brain's cognitive maps, and to explore new paradigms for AGI. After years working across systems neuroscience, theory, and AI at Janelia and Cornell, I'm convinced the shortest path to robust, general intelligence runs through the brain's own solutions. Now I get to test that conviction full-time, with brilliant colleagues (like @jason_z_kim, a wonderfully creative scientist who joined around the same time) and the freedom to go deep. If you love both brains and machines, we're hiring. Come build with us!