Carl T. BergstromMay 25, 2023

One of the decisive moments in my understanding of #LLMs and their limitations was when, last autumn, @emilymbender walked me through her Thai Library thought experiment.

She's now written it up as a Medium post, and you can read it here. The value comes from really pondering the question she poses, so take the time to think about it. What would YOU do in the situation she outlines?

https://medium.com/@emilymenonbender/thought-experiment-in-the-national-library-of-thailand-f2bf761a8a83

Show threadLe Néandertal se sent las, las
@ct_bergstrom @emilymbender I fail to see the difference with the Chinese room argument... On which I tend to agree, at the present time, with Daniel Dennett (evocated in the WP article). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_room
Chinese room - Wikipedia

May 25, 2023 at 6:56amWeb
Show threadPete CarltonMay 26, 2023
@HydrePrever @ct_bergstrom @emilymbender Yes, it's a Chinese room argument with the "dials set differently" as Dennett has put it. I agree with Dennett's refutation of Searle's argument, but this setting of the dials has made me think a lot about its application to LLMs and I'm still pondering it; I'm not sure what to conclude yet. So, a very good essay even if I may end up disagreeing.