4 ms·

Hmm something about this title containing the word 'research' disturbs me. I associate that word with rigorous scientific methods that leads to fact based know

Hmm something about this title containing the word 'research' disturbs me. I associate that word with rigorous scientific methods that leads to fact based knowledge or maybe some new hypothesis, not some LLM hallucinating sources, references, quotes and all the other garbage they spit out when challenged over a point of fact. Horrifying to think peeps might turn towards these tools for factual information.

devmor 3y ago
Yes, I came to the comments to say the same thing. The LLM is not doing research - it is aggregating data associated with terms and reorganizing text based on what previous responses to a similar prompt would look like. At the most generous level of scrutiny, the only part that could be related to research would be the aggregation of sources - but that is only a precursor to research and likely is too generalized to be as accurate as a specialist preparing data for actual research.
madeofpalk 3y ago
This anthropomorphism really bothers me. These tools are useful for what they’re good for, but I really dislike the agency people keep trying to give to them.
- Terr_ 3y ago
  I think there's always been fine line between anthropomorphism as a metaphorical way to indicate complexity versus a pitfall where people (especially outside of a field) start acting like it's a literal statement. Ex: "the gyroscope is trying to stay upright", or "the computer complains because the update is broken" or "evolution will give the birds longer beaks". That said, I agree that the problem is dramatically more-severe when it comes to "AI".
- _akhe 3y ago
  It should also bother marketers in the AI industry because it confuses people on what the incredible value is. So many people think LLM means chatbot, even here on HN. So many people think agent means mentally humanoid. But we have others, like Stable Diffusion's Web UI and Leonardo.AI - these are just tools with interfaces and the text entry for prompting is not presented as though it's a conversation between 2 people. Someone shared an AI songmaker here recently... And there's a number of promising RAG tools for improving workflows for: Doctors, mechanics, researchers, lawyers. I agree with you and expect the "AI character" use case to narrow significantly.
mistermann 3y ago
> Hmm something about this title containing the word 'research' disturbs me. I associate that word with rigorous scientific methods... The presence of the word "scientific" in this statement disturbs me.
echo8899 3y ago
Is there any better word in your mind instead of "research"?

devmor 3y ago

Yes, I came to the comments to say the same thing. The LLM is not doing research - it is aggregating data associated with terms and reorganizing text based on what previous responses to a similar prompt would look like. At the most generous level of scrutiny, the only part that could be related to research would be the aggregation of sources - but that is only a precursor to research and likely is too generalized to be as accurate as a specialist preparing data for actual research.

madeofpalk 3y ago

This anthropomorphism really bothers me. These tools are useful for what they’re good for, but I really dislike the agency people keep trying to give to them.

Terr_ 3y ago
I think there's always been fine line between anthropomorphism as a metaphorical way to indicate complexity versus a pitfall where people (especially outside of a field) start acting like it's a literal statement. Ex: "the gyroscope is trying to stay upright", or "the computer complains because the update is broken" or "evolution will give the birds longer beaks". That said, I agree that the problem is dramatically more-severe when it comes to "AI".
_akhe 3y ago
It should also bother marketers in the AI industry because it confuses people on what the incredible value is. So many people think LLM means chatbot, even here on HN. So many people think agent means mentally humanoid. But we have others, like Stable Diffusion's Web UI and Leonardo.AI - these are just tools with interfaces and the text entry for prompting is not presented as though it's a conversation between 2 people. Someone shared an AI songmaker here recently... And there's a number of promising RAG tools for improving workflows for: Doctors, mechanics, researchers, lawyers. I agree with you and expect the "AI character" use case to narrow significantly.

mistermann 3y ago

> Hmm something about this title containing the word 'research' disturbs me. I associate that word with rigorous scientific methods... The presence of the word "scientific" in this statement disturbs me.

echo8899 3y ago

Is there any better word in your mind instead of "research"?