Are Large Language Models Sentient? Sentience is the capacity to experience sensations, thoughts, and feelings

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Gurteen Knowledge Blog   May 27, 2024, 10:29

Ross Dawson started a recent interesting thread on LinkedIn on whether Large Language Models are or will be sentient. The thread was prompted by an article by Stanford luminary Fei-Fei Li, who argues that AI isn’t sentient because it lacks subjective experiences.

Definition: sentience

Sentience is the capacity to experience sensations, thoughts, and feelings, and to have subjective experiences. It involves being aware of one’s surroundings, having a sense of self, and possessing the ability to perceive and respond to stimuli. Sentient beings are considered to have a level of consciousness, and their experiences are subjective and unique to them.

Tag: sentience (2)

This provoked me to chat with ChatGPT on my iPhone, and I’m 98% convinced that current large language models (LLMs) are not sentient. At the end of my conversation, I asked ChatGPT to provide three references to articles claiming that LLMs are sentient. None of the articles stated this claim definitively, but the article below systematically asks: Could AI be sentient with Large Language Models?

The bottom line of the article: “… we can’t decisively confirm or deny the sentience of current LLMs, and that “finding a conclusion counterintuitive or repugnant is not sufficient reason to reject the conclusion”. Thus, we should at least take the hypothesis seriously and the prospect of AI sentience even more seriously.”

Side note: These days, I assign a percentage to my beliefs and challenge others to persuade me to adjust that percentage. There is nothing I am 100% sure about.

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Tags: large language model (5) | sentience (2)

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Photo Credits: Midjourney (Public Domain)

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