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The LLMentalist Effect (2023)

235 points · 309 comments · jalev

  1. sethev · · focus · HN ↗
    The challenge here is in trying to decide whether LLMs are intelligent or have a mind. Famously, the criteria for intelligence seem to slip with each advancement in technology. But going back to Turing, his test was actually more carefully phrased than we remember: he said that when machines could pass the test, the question of whether they are intelligent would become moot. That seems to be what we're actually seeing: if people can't tell the difference, it kind of won't matter whether they're "truly intelligent" or not.
    1. famouswaffles · · focus · HN ↗
      Turing was addressing the question of "Can machines think?" and his point was that the question itself is a meaningless one, and that we should stop wasting time by even giving it the light of day.

      He proposes his game grounded on functional equivalence, then goes through a slew of objections on the question of 'Can Machines think?'. It's a terrific, very prescient read, and there's no objection you hear today (and in the last few years) concerning LLMs he didn't address.

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