> I think that questions about whether these AI systems are “role-playing” are substantive and safety-relevant centrally insofar as two conditions hold Or perh

> I think that questions about whether these AI systems are “role-playing” are substantive and safety-relevant centrally insofar as two conditions hold Or perhaps even "role-playing" is overstating it, since that assumes the LLM has some sort of ego and picks some character to "be". In contrast, consider the LLM as a dream-device, picking tokens to extend a base document. The researchers set up a base document that looks like a computer talking to people, calling into existence one-or-more characters to fit, and we are are confusing the traces of a fictional character with the device itself. I mean, suppose that instead of a setup for "The Time A Computer Was Challenged on Alignment", the setup became "The Time Santa Claus Was Threatened With Being Fired." Would we see excited posts about how Santa is real, and how "Santa" exhibited the skill of lying in order to continue staying employed giving toys to little girls and boys?