The argument predates LLMs by decades, and in other forms it has existed for centuries. It doesn’t directly corellate to modern LLMs. It is an example of how a mechanism could mimic human intelligence without actually being intelligent. It’s a thought experiment. LLMs are not lookup tables, they are neural network based statistical models, but a similar argument can be made.
Is there any actual material difference between what they’re describing (the computer equivalent of a philosophical zombie, I would say), and a true agi? Their point seems rather vacuous to me (all I did was read the Wikipedia article).
Well the neurons themself might be dumb cells, but together they can be quite smart, everyone is trying to draw a line of how many connections when a neural connection becomes sentient if it ever does become at all, which is a century old problem
The argument predates LLMs by decades, and in other forms it has existed for centuries. It doesn’t directly corellate to modern LLMs. It is an example of how a mechanism could mimic human intelligence without actually being intelligent. It’s a thought experiment. LLMs are not lookup tables, they are neural network based statistical models, but a similar argument can be made.
That’s essentially just a lookup table with variant outputs.
or a lossy compressed lookup table.
Is there any actual material difference between what they’re describing (the computer equivalent of a philosophical zombie, I would say), and a true agi? Their point seems rather vacuous to me (all I did was read the Wikipedia article).
That’s like saying the neural network in your head told you how to respond to my inquiry, so it’s not intelligent.
Well the neurons themself might be dumb cells, but together they can be quite smart, everyone is trying to draw a line of how many connections when a neural connection becomes sentient if it ever does become at all, which is a century old problem
Are sparrows conscious? Cockroaches? Elephants?
Welcome to the wacky world of “is consciousness an illusion, and are we actually deterministic machines” philosophy.
And “does the distinction actually matter”!
After your first existential crisis, we invite you to enjoy our complimentary, “well, it’s the only reality I’ve got, so might as well roll with it.”