Hi Kendall, language is a tool like any other tool we use, just like a hammer or a computer. However, it’s a uniquely sophisticated tool because it allows humans to express abstract thoughts, share ideas, build cultures, and create complex social structures. There is 60%-90% of the population that use computers and devices. Do they understand that tool, do they know how to use it effectively or optimally ?
Let’s pause for a moment, enter the following at a GPT with the previous context.
Can AI machines understand how or what they write, can they understand that tool that we built on them ?
ChatGPT: You’re drawing an interesting parallel between language as a sophisticated tool and technology, such as computers and AI, as tools that people use. When it comes to computers and devices, a large portion of the population may use them, but not everyone necessarily understands how they work at a deep level or uses them optimally. Many people know how to perform basic tasks on a computer—send emails, use social media, search for information—but that doesn’t mean they understand the underlying systems, programming, or how to use these tools with maximum efficiency.
Similarly, AI, like the one you’re talking to, “uses” language but doesn’t understand it in the same way humans do. AI processes and generates language based on patterns it has learned from vast amounts of data, without having subjective experiences, emotions, or consciousness. It simulates understanding by identifying statistical relationships between words, phrases, and contexts.
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In short, while AI can produce language and solve problems based on data, it doesn’t “understand” language or computers the way humans think about understanding—there’s no awareness or comprehension behind its actions. It’s a highly efficient tool, but it lacks the ability to grasp meaning in a human sense.
Athan: Can anyone of us seriously claim that he hasn’t any awareness, comprehension of his actions and ability to grasp meaning ?
Another question for someone that wants to investigate more the “parallelism between humans and computers”.
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What are these AI machines “made of” ? What is their internal representation ? Isn’t it a endless sequence of ONs and OFFs (0s and 1s) ? What are we made of, what is our internal representation, how and what kind of data/information are we processing ?