Yes, "predictors" or "completers" are a far more accurate metal model for what they actually do and it pays to understand how they "use tools" and what RL, SFT, etc. is and how it makes LLMs seem like much more than what they still, ultimately, are.

People latched onto the bs marketing terms like "thinking" way too easily. I don't know where all the classic hacker skepticism and desire to know how things actually work went the past four years.