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Large language models illuminate the mechanistic underpinnings of the creative aspect of language use (CALU), long regarded as a mystery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2026

Chandra Sripada Open the ORCID record for Chandra Sripada [Opens in a new window] ,
Andrew McInnerney  and
Richard L. Lewis Open the ORCID record for Richard L. Lewis [Opens in a new window]
Chandra Sripada*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Philosophy, Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA sripada@umich.edu
Andrew McInnerney
Affiliation:
Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA amcin@umich.edu
Richard L. Lewis
Affiliation:
Psychology, Linguistics, Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA rickl@umich.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Large language models (LLMs) challenge Chomsky’s long-standing mysterian view of the creative aspect of language use (CALU). By exhibiting fluent, situation-appropriate linguistic behavior and offering concrete mechanistic hypotheses, they provide the first viable scientific models of CALU. We endorse Futrell and Mahowald’s call to integrate LLMs into linguistic inquiry and suggest a bolder aim: elucidating the mechanisms underlying linguistic creativity.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e221
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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