this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2025
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Musk’s Chatbot Started Spouting Nazi Propaganda. That’s Not the Scariest Part. (www.nytimes.com)
submitted 9 months ago by pete_link@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/33174237

By Zeynep Tufekci - Opinion Columnist
July 11, 2025

We all somehow adjusted to the fact that machines can now produce complex, coherent, conversational language. But that ability makes it extremely hard not to think about L.L.M.s as possessing a form of humanlike intelligence.

They are not, however, a version of human intelligence. Nor are they truth seekers or reasoning machines. What they are is plausibility engines. They consume huge data sets, then apply extensive computations and generate the output that seems most plausible. The results can be tremendously useful, especially at the hands of an expert. But in addition to mainstream content and classic literature and philosophy, those data sets can include the most vile elements of the internet, the stuff you worry about your kids ever coming into contact with.

https://archive.ph/qZjnK

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[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago (2 children)

They are not, however, a version of human intelligence. Nor are they truth seekers or reasoning machines.

Neither are our brains.

“Brains are survival engines, not truth detectors. If self-deception promotes fitness, the brain lies. Stops noticing—irrelevant things. Truth never matters. Only fitness. By now you don’t experience the world as it exists at all. You experience a simulation built from assumptions. Shortcuts. Lies. Whole species is agnosiac by default.”

― Peter Watts, Blindsight

LLMs are built from our words. Maybe they're more human than human? One wonders.

[–] benignintervention@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ooo added the book to my list, thanks!

Also, Robert Sapolsky's book Determined explores whether we're conscious or not based on his work in neuroscience and primatology. It's like a book length version of the quote you posted

[–] foofy@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It's not the most welcoming read in terms of sci-fi but I love that book. That and its sequel (Echopraxia) do what sci-fi is supposed to do (make you think).

[–] benignintervention@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm a sci fi nerd from foundation to Hyperion to the expanse but I've never heard of Blindsight, and you've absolutely sold me on it

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

Found it at the library 10+ years ago, read the flyleaf, thought, "This is pants on head idiotic. I need a break on something light. Let's try it." I have never been more wrong in judging a book by it's cover.

Read it probably 13-14 times, kinda embarrassing. Anyway, the ship's captain is a vampire. And it's hard sci-fy, no sparkles. My post was the vampire talking about humans.

explores whether we're conscious or not

Holy shit will you love Blindsight. You are going to scream with joy. Free on the author's site.

One more thing, Watts puts a bibliography (science journals and books) in the back for every idea he writes about.

[–] benignintervention@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Oh fuck yeah, buddy! I'm grabbing it right now! Might buy the audio on libro.fm to support the author too

[–] benignintervention@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Dude, what is this book. Who writes like this? I fucking adore it

[–] knightly@pawb.social 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

LLMs are just massively-multidimensional maps of human language use. It is academically interesting to have developed both the map and a method for plotting a course through language-space using a prompt as an initial vector, but human intellience is not in language. Rather, language is part of human intelligence, and mapping it to ever more computationally-expensive distances is never going to chart a path to the digital mind that all the tech billionaires are so desperate to enslave.