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0 pointsstaticman23y ago0 comments

The word "thought" means something. When you use it to describe ChatGPT, you have in fact argued "there's no fundamental difference between humans and LLMs."

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5 comments · 2 top-level

danenania3y ago· 2 in thread

That presupposes that the only thought that exists or can exist is human thought. You can define it that way if you like, but it’s not the only definition.

staticman2OP3y ago

I'm not saying the only thought that exists is human thought. (I believe animals can think).

I'm saying using a word invented to describe animals behavior, "thought" to describe a large language model has no discernible meaning other than you think it works like an animal brain.

If you think it's an open question whether it works like an animal, you should find a better word than "thought".

danenania3y ago

A CPU "runs". A disk "seeks". An OS stores data in "memory". Re-purposing terms to describe new concepts is routine in the evolution of language, and (non-human, non-biological) "thought" is a perfectly apt way to describe what we can observe in the output of massive LLMs like GPT.

giardini3y ago· 1 in thread

The parent was very careful to distinguish "human thought" from "non-human thought".

staticman2OP3y ago

> The parent was very careful to distinguish "human thought" from "non-human thought".

Yes, I noticed. Putting "non-human" in front of "thought" doesn't help.

I doubt parent uses the word "thought" to describe how a thermostat, calculator, or "Hello world" program works.

Using it to describe ChatGPT has no discernable semantic meaning other than OP believes ChatGPT works like an animal brain.

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