5 ms·
I think the comparison to brown rat brains is a huge mistake. It seems pretty apparent (at least from my personal usage of LLMs in different contexts) that mode
by hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
I think the comparison to brown rat brains is a huge mistake. It seems pretty apparent (at least from my personal usage of LLMs in different contexts) that modern AI is much smarter than a brown rat at some things (I don't think brown rats can pass the bar exam), but in other cases it becomes apparent that it isn't "intelligent" at all in the sense that it becomes clear that it's just regurgitating training data, albeit in a highly variable manner.
I think LLMs and modern AI are incredibly amazing and useful tools, but even with the top SOA models today it becomes clearer to me the more I use them that they are fundamentally lacking crucial components of what average people consider "intelligence". I'm using quotes deliberately because the debate about "what is intelligence" feels like it can go in circles endlessly - I'd just say that the core concept of what we consider understanding, especially as it applies to creating and exploring novel concepts that aren't just a mashup of previous training examples, appears to be sorely missing from LLMs.
- cs702 2y agoImagine it were possible to take a rat brain, keep it alive with a permanent source of energy, wire its input and output connections to a computer, and then train the rat brain's output signals to predict the next token, given previous tokens fed as inputs, using graduated pain or pleasure signals as the objective loss function. All the neuron-neuron connections in that rain brain would eventually serve one, and only one, goal: predicting an accurate probability distribution over the next possible token, given previous tokens. The number of neuron-neuron connections in this "rat-brain-powered LLM" would be comparable to that of today's state-of-the-art LLMs. This is less far-fetched than it sounds. Search for "organic deep neural networks" online. Networks of rat neurons have in fact been trained to fly planes, in simulators, among other things.
- ImHereToVote 2y agoHuman brain organelles are in use right now by a Swiss company.
- cs702 2y agoThanks. Yeah, I've heard there are a bunch of efforts like that, but as far as I know, all are very early stage. I do wonder if the most energy-efficient way to scale up AI models is by implementing them in organic substrates.
- cynicalpeace 2y ago> modern AI is much smarter than a brown rat at some things (I don't think brown rats can pass the bar exam), but in other cases it becomes apparent that it isn't "intelligent" at all There is no modern AI system that can go into your house and find a piece of cheese. The whole notion that modern AI is somehow "intelligent", yet can't tell me where the dishwasher is in my house is hilarious. My 3 year old son can tell me where the dishwasher is. A well trained dog could do so. It's the result of a nerdy definition of "intelligence" which excludes anything to do with common sense, street smarts, emotional intelligence, or creativity (last one might be debatable but I've found it extremely difficult to prompt AI to write amazingly unique and creative stories reliably) The AI systems need bodies to actually learn these things.
- CooCooCaCha 2y agoWhere do you think common sense, emotional intelligence, creativity, etc. come from? The spirit? Some magic brain juice? No, it comes from neurons, synapses, signals, chemicals, etc.
- cynicalpeace 2y agoIt comes from billions of years of evolution, the struggle to survive and maintain your body long enough to reproduce. "Neurons, synapses, signals, chemicals" are downstream of that.
- mensetmanusman 2y agoWhy would dust care about survival?
- cynicalpeace 2y ago¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Consult a bible
- FrustratedMonky 2y ago