Google and DeepMind merged in 2023. DeepMind’s scientist Murry Shanahan is not able to resolve a dilemma he faces. He describes LLMs as ‘exotic mind-like entities’. AI in future does require a new vocabulary.
What is the logic behind this diction? Our vocabulary falls short while describing emerging digital intelligence. It is mind-like but not ‘mind’ as we have humans have. To hedge the bets, we have hyphenated it — mind-like. LLMs do use language the way we do. Still, they exist without physical embodiment. A new concept of self-hood emerges. It is eerie and unfamiliar.
Muiray’s observations carry weight. DeepMind founded in 2016 is in the forefront of AI research. AphaGo has scored a victory against a world Champion. AlphaFold predicted protein structures. DeepMind blurred the line between machine and mind. The merged entity Google DeepMind has done valuable AI research. It has trained neural networks to master chess, Go and Shogi. It has trained networks to solve puzzles of molecular biology.
Murray is a professor of Cognitive Robotics at Imperial College London and a senior scientist of DeepMind. He has studied the intersection of AI, cognitive science and philosophy. He advised in the making of Ex Machina (2014 film) to navigate such nuances.
Defining intelligence in entities that are not human is challenging. He calls LLMs exotic. It shows his deep understanding. The machines are evolving rapidly, but we lag behind in understanding them. As AI gets integrated into our lives, it will be prudent to forge a new conceptual framework of intelligence, self-hood and consciousness.
As it is, we are creating minds we can barely define, let alone understand them. Humanity is on the threshold of a philosophical frontier. We are searching the diction for companions we have created from code.
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