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LLMs differ from human cognition because they are not embodied

Large language models (LLMs) are impressive technological creations but they cannot replace all scientific theories of cognition. A science of cognition must focus on humans as embodied, social animals who are embedded in material, cultural and technological contexts.

There is the technological question of whether computers can be intelligent, and also the scientific question of how it is that humans and other animals are intelligent. Answering either question requires an agreement about what the word ‘intelligence’ means. Here, I will both follow common usage and avoid making it a matter of definition that only adult humans could possibly be intelligent by assuming that to be intelligent is to have the ability to solve complex and cognitively demanding problems. If we understand intelligence this way, the question of whether computers can be intelligent has already been answered. With apologies to Dreyfus and Lanier, it has been clear for years that the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’. The recent advances made by ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) are the cherry on top of decades of technological innovation. LLMs generate clear and convincing prose on almost any topic; they can be useful for research; they generate computer code that compiles and runs; and, recently, ChatGPT has been judged by patients to be as medically accurate as and more empathetic than human physicians3. I use ChatGPT regularly, as do many of my colleagues and students.

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References

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  2. Lanier, J. There is no A.I. The New Yorker (20 April 2023).

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Z. Biener, A. Chemero and E. Feiten for comments on an earlier draft. Work on this Comment was supported by the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center.

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  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Anthony Chemero

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Anthony Chemero

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  1. Anthony Chemero
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Anthony Chemero.

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Nature Human Behaviour thanks Mark Dingemanse, Ishita Dasgupta, and Julian Kiverstein for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Chemero, A. LLMs differ from human cognition because they are not embodied.
Nat Hum Behav (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01723-5

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  • Published: 20 November 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01723-5

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