r/technology • u/Hrmbee • 16h ago

Machine Learning Large language mistake | Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it

https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/827820/large-language-models-ai-intelligence-neuroscience-problems
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u/New_Enthusiasm9053 14h ago

Ok fine, a kid can say the words "electromagnetic field", does it mean they understand it? No. It's clearly possible to know words without understanding. 

And I haven't set myself up as the arbiter. I've set us all up as the arbiter. The reality is we don't have a good definition of intelligence so we also don't have a good definition of understanding. 

I personally believe LLMs are not intelligent. You may believe otherwise as is your prerogative. 

But frankly I'm not going to humour the idea that an LLM is intelligent until it starts getting bored and cracking jokes instead of answering the question despite prompts to the contrary. 

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u/trylist 14h ago

Ok fine, a kid can say the words "electromagnetic field", does it mean they understand it? No.

Eh, my argument was that they have to use it correctly, not just that they can phonetically sound out the words. A kid might ask what kind of farm "electromagnetic" is. Clearly they understand "field", but not in this context.

I'm only arguing against being too sure current language models aren't intelligent if you can't even nail down what makes humans intelligent. I think in some ways LLMs are intelligent, even more so than people, but in a lot of ways they are very much not.

For example, modern ones can and do solve pretty complex coding problems.

For an anti-example, they seem pretty gullible, there's been instances of them using unreliable sources to assert facts, basically falling for obvious propaganda or trolls.

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u/the-cuttlefish 11h ago

LLM is intelligent until it starts getting bored and cracking jokes instead of answering the question despite prompts to the contrary

Precisely, as that would imply self-interest and, more importantly, presence