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Computer Science > Computation and Language

arXiv:2401.03910 (cs)
[Submitted on 8 Jan 2024]

Title:A Philosophical Introduction to Language Models -- Part I:
Continuity With Classic Debates

Authors:Raphael Milliere, Cameron Buckner
Download a PDF of the paper titled A Philosophical Introduction to
Language Models -- Part I: Continuity With Classic Debates, by Rapha\
"el Milli\`ere and 1 other authors
Download PDF

    Abstract:Large language models like GPT-4 have achieved
    remarkable proficiency in a broad spectrum of language-based
    tasks, some of which are traditionally associated with hallmarks
    of human intelligence. This has prompted ongoing disagreements
    about the extent to which we can meaningfully ascribe any kind of
    linguistic or cognitive competence to language models. Such
    questions have deep philosophical roots, echoing longstanding
    debates about the status of artificial neural networks as
    cognitive models. This article -- the first part of two companion
    papers -- serves both as a primer on language models for
    philosophers, and as an opinionated survey of their significance
    in relation to classic debates in the philosophy cognitive
    science, artificial intelligence, and linguistics. We cover
    topics such as compositionality, language acquisition, semantic
    competence, grounding, world models, and the transmission of
    cultural knowledge. We argue that the success of language models
    challenges several long-held assumptions about artificial neural
    networks. However, we also highlight the need for further
    empirical investigation to better understand their internal
    mechanisms. This sets the stage for the companion paper (Part
    II), which turns to novel empirical methods for probing the inner
    workings of language models, and new philosophical questions
    prompted by their latest developments.

Subjects: Computation and Language (cs.CL); Artificial Intelligence
          (cs.AI); Machine Learning (cs.LG)
Cite as:  arXiv:2401.03910 [cs.CL]
          (or arXiv:2401.03910v1 [cs.CL] for this version)
          https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2401.03910
          Focus to learn more
          arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

Submission history

From: Raphael Milliere [view email]
[v1] Mon, 8 Jan 2024 14:12:31 UTC (1,347 KB)
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    to Language Models -- Part I: Continuity With Classic Debates, by
    Rapha\"el Milli\`ere and 1 other authors
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