[MERL Seminar Series Spring 2024] The Debate Over 'Understanding' in AI's Large Language Models

Melanie Mitchell, Santa Fe Institute, presented a talk entitled "The Debate Over 'Understanding' in AI's Large Language Models" in the MERL Seminar Series on February 13, 2024.
Abstract:
I will survey a current, heated debate in the AI research community on whether large pre-trained language models can be said to "understand" language -- and the physical and social situations language encodes -- in any important sense. I will describe arguments that have been made for and against such understanding, and, more generally, will discuss what methods can be used to fairly evaluate understanding and intelligence in AI systems. I will conclude with key questions for the broader sciences of intelligence that have arisen in light of these discussions.