[gillesjacobs]

Let me falsify your claim immediately: the inputs of these models are nothing like the inputs a human receives, subword tokens do not even match up with lexical items (visually, textually and semantically).

You seem to agree with me even though your interpretation of falsifiability is inverted: I am not asking that authors make a claim that their models do not mimick human intelligence. Like OP, I ask them that they do not make that positive claim, i.e. omit humanising language unless they can substantiate it with evidence.

[xg15]

The inputs and outputs for humans are synaptic action potentials, neurotransmitters and hormones. Is that so different?

Also agreeing that current LLMs are probably not sentient in any meaningful way. But what I don't like about the discussion is is that it steers in a direction where it would fundamentally be seen as bad science to claim that any AI model could be conscious - and I don't see that covered by the scientific method either, for the reasons that onetwoonetwo explained.

This reminds me a bit of the discussion whether or not animals can be conscious/experience emotions/feel pain, etc.

[oneoneonetwo]

It's an invalid falsification.

The input to chatGPT is a textual interface, the output is letters on a screen. That is the exact same interface as if I were chatting with a human over a chat app.

Your getting into the technicalities of intermediary inputs and outputs. Well sure... analog data seen by the nueral wetware of human brains IS obviously different from the textual digital data inputted into the ML model. There are very different filters and mechanisms at work here. For sure.

HOWEVER, we are looking for an isomorphism here. Similar to how a emulated playstation on a computer is very different then a physical playstation... an internal isomorphism STILL exists between hardware and the software emulating the hardware.

We do not know if such an isomorphism exists between chatGPT and the human brain. This isomorphism is basically the crystallized essence of what cognition is if we could define it. If one does exists it's not perfect... there are missing things. But it is niave to say that some form isomorphism isn't there AT ALL. It also niave to say that there is FOR SURE an isomorphism.

The most rational and scientific thing at this point is to speculate. Maybe what chatGPT is, is something vaguely isomorphic to cognition. Keyword: maybe.

It is NOT an unreasonable speculation GIVEN what we KNOW and DON'T KNOW.

[oneoneonetwo]

I also want to mention that, you directly stated in your first sentence in your first post that humanizing was wrong.

This in itself is a claim made without evidence. Which is my point. The claim as it stands cannot be made either way. We simply don't know.

[gillesjacobs]

The counterargument stems on a fundamental misunderstand of what it means to make assertive claims in science: you always need to prove your positive claim, saying that we do not know that ML models are human-like requires no evidence because this is the zero hypothesis.

Using humanising language is equivalent to attributing human-like cognition to ML models. Unless there is very strong evidence that there are analogies between the specific modeling mechanism and human-like intelligence, it is always incorrect to positively assert these claims without evidence. In science, you can only assert that for which there is evidence, strong claims like the above require strong evidence.