When OpenAI revealed itspicture-making neural network DALL-E in early 2021, the program’s human-like ability to combine different concepts in new ways was striking. The string of images that DALL-E produced on demand were surreal and cartoonish, but they showed that the AI had learned key lessons about how the world fits together. DALL-E’s avocado armchairs had the essential features of both avocados and chairs; its dog-walking daikons in tutus wore the tutus around their waists and held the dogs’ leashes in their hands.