Dream Machine

World Models · an interactive field guide & laboratory

Machines are learning to imagine.

They're called world models: systems that predict what happens next, given what is and what you do. On this site you'll train one yourself — it runs right here, in your browser, on code you can read.

Reality vs. the dream — live, in your browser, right now
Left: real physics. Right: a neural network trained on gameplay, imagining the same world by consuming its own predictions — then re-grounding on reality every few seconds. The drift between them is the central problem of this whole field.
Start at Level 1 →Skip to training your own

The five-level ladder

Each level works on its own, but they compound. Difficulty is honest; so are the prerequisites.

  1. Level 1●○○

    You Already Have One

    Catching a ball is a prediction problem your brain already solves.

    Prerequisites: None.

  2. Level 2●○○

    The Dream Machine

    Encode, predict, act — how a machine dreams a world forward.

    Prerequisites: Level 1.

  3. Level 3●●○

    Train Your Own

    Play. Watch it learn from you. Step inside its dream. Let it plan.

    Prerequisites: Levels 1–2. The heart of the site.

  4. Level 4●●○

    Compounding Dreams and Other Nightmares

    Why dreams drift — and every way your model fails, on demand.

    Prerequisites: Level 3 — its trained model is this level's lab bench.

  5. Level 5●○○

    The 2026 Landscape

    Renderers, simulators, planners — who is building what, sourced.

    Prerequisites: None to skim; far richer after Levels 1–4.

What is this site?

A museum exhibit crossed with an interactive textbook crossed with a laboratory — about the machines that predict what happens next. Three promises hold everywhere:

  • No ML libraries, no hidden machinery. The neural network you train in Level 3 runs on a from-scratch library shipped with this site. Every visualization has a “view the code” panel showing the actual source that is running.
  • No unsourced hype. Every claim about a real-world system links to its source on the sources page — and a script fails the build if one doesn't.
  • Limits stated plainly. When the dream drifts from reality, the site shows you why — and where the whole field is still stuck.