4 ms·
> if the Chinese Room reliably delivers context-specific correct results in unique contexts, then what more do we require of intelligence? First, I'm not sure
by MarkusQ 4mo ago
> if the Chinese Room reliably delivers context-specific correct results in unique contexts, then what more do we require of intelligence?
First, I'm not sure I grant the premise (esp. "reliably"), but even so the answer seems glaringly obvious: we require intelligence to extend the range of what is known so that it can be looked up / delivered by systems like libraries, search engines, and LLMs. The conflation of knowledge indexing and knowledge creation (and, more specifically, that some people don't seem to be able to distinguish them) may be the core of the issue.
> BTW Killing Me Softly wasn't written/sung/anything by Carly Simon
Yeah, I probably hallucinate that. :P
- saulpw 4mo agoI agree that there is some 'higher' intelligence that is about knowledge creation; say, mathematical inventions like RSA, or new philosophy, or coming up with interesting mathematical problems. But I only asked what is 'required' of intelligence, and we should admit that the vast majority of people, even among those who have above-average intelligence, do not create new knowledge of the grand sort. Most people acquire knowledge in education and then apply that knowledge in their vocation, and their improvements are optimizations or remixings that we already see AI capable of making.
- MarkusQ 4mo agoMost people don't create knowledge "of the grand sort" but that's moving the goal posts; they do create knowledge "of the mundane sort" constantly. LLMs with a suitable harness can simulate this (poorly) by parroting what humans do when they are flustered (mumbling to themselves things like "What was I going to the store for? I made a list. Where did I put the list? Ah, here it is. Now where did I leave my keys?") and it even sort of appears to work, at least in highly structured environments. But it only appears to work as long as things stay within the expected statistical distribution. If I'm driving my usual route to work, waiting to turn left, and the three cars in front of me each start their turn, glow pink, and turn into circus animals with their occupants perched precariously on top I'm going to have a very different reaction than any self driving car or LLM.
- saulpw 4mo agoI've been in situations like this, where the cars in front of me turned into circus animals, and let me tell you, I didn't react intelligently.