Understanding what nervous systems (like your brain) or artificial neural networks (like ChatGPT) are doing is difficult. Both are impressive, but, upon looking inside to see how they work, one is confronted by a confusing gloop of billions of neurons chattering to one another. I’m a theoretical neuroscientist, and my work involves building mathematical bridges that link this neural chattering to interpretable computations, thereby explaining what the neurons are talking about and why. I trained originally as a (condensed matter) physicist, before switching to theoretical neuroscience and machine learning, getting my PhD from University College London at the end of 2025. I’ve had research stays in Okinawa, Johannesburg, and Stanford, and now I’m an independent research fellow at Harvard.