AI Is the Black Mirror
Philosopher Shannon Vallor argues AI reflects human intelligence, not mimics it. She warns against equating AI with human reasoning, emphasizing the need to preserve confidence in human cognition for global challenges.
Read original article
The article discusses the complex relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and human cognition, emphasizing the misconceptions surrounding AI's capabilities. Philosopher Shannon Vallor argues that AI should not be viewed as a mind but rather as a mirror reflecting human intelligence. This perspective challenges the notion that AI can think or possess emotions like humans. Vallor warns against the dangers of equating AI with human reasoning, as it diminishes our understanding of human thought processes and could lead to a loss of agency. She critiques the tech industry's portrayal of humans as mere machines, which undermines our unique cognitive abilities. Vallor's insights highlight the need to rebuild confidence in human reasoning, especially in addressing global challenges like climate change and democracy. The article also touches on the debate surrounding artificial general intelligence (AGI) and the implications of redefining human intelligence in relation to AI. Vallor remains skeptical about claims that AI systems are developing cognitive abilities akin to human minds, asserting that current AI lacks the experiential foundation necessary for true thinking.
- AI should be viewed as a reflection of human intelligence, not as a mind.
- Equating AI with human reasoning can undermine our understanding of human cognition.
- Vallor emphasizes the importance of maintaining confidence in human reasoning to tackle global issues.
- The portrayal of humans as machines by the tech industry is problematic and reductive.
- Current AI lacks the experiential foundation necessary for true cognitive abilities.
Related
AI's Cognitive Mirror: The Illusion of Consciousness in the Digital Age
The article explores AI's limitations in developing spiritual consciousness due to lacking sensory perception like humans. It discusses AI's strengths in abstract thought but warns of errors and biases. It touches on AI worship, language models, and the need for safeguards.
The Danger of Superhuman AI Is Not What You Think
Shannon Vallor critiques the narrative equating advanced AI with superhuman capabilities, arguing it undermines human agency and essential qualities like consciousness and empathy, urging a nuanced understanding of intelligence.
Will humans ever become conscious?
Jiddu Krishnamurti expressed concerns about AI fostering a mechanistic mindset, urging the cultivation of non-mechanical aspects of the mind to preserve human identity and encourage introspection amid technological advancement.
The Clever Hans Effect, Iterative LLM Prompting, and Socrates' Meno
The relationship between AI and human intelligence is debated, with large language models creating an illusion of intelligence through interaction, emphasizing AI's role in enhancing human inquiry rather than replicating cognition.
AI Is the Black Mirror
Shannon Vallor's book "The AI Mirror" argues that AI reflects human intelligence, not replicates it, warning that misconceptions about AI can undermine human reasoning and agency, emphasizing the importance of lived experience.
- Many commenters agree that AI, particularly LLMs, lacks an "inner life" and true understanding, functioning instead as a reflection of human input.
- Some argue that advancements in AI could lead to it developing a form of reasoning or consciousness similar to humans.
- Critics express skepticism about the claims that AI understands language or thought in the same way humans do, pointing to noticeable differences in output quality.
- There is a discussion about the implications of AI creating original content and how it interacts with human knowledge.
- Several commenters call for more substantial arguments regarding the uniqueness of human cognition compared to AI capabilities.
11 commentsSure, but it's a reflection of a large amount of human intelligence, from many individualks, almost instantly available (in a certain form) to one individual.
There are interesting ways to argue for humans being special, but I read the entire article and unless I missed something important there's nothing like that there.
At present I don’t think it is yet at the same point but when the AI can adjust those pathways, add more in compute time (infinite memory like tech) and is allowed to ‘think’ about those pathways then I can see it gaining our level or better of philosophical thought.
Yeah, gonna need proof on that one.
First, LLM slop is uncannily easy to pick out in comments vs human thought.
Second, there's no prompt that you can give a human that will generate absolutely nonsense response or canceling the request.
If anything, it feels like it doesn't actually understand language at all, and just craps out what it thinks looks like a language. Which is exactly what it does, in fact, sometimes to fanfare.
This is my opinion, my view and how I set my life to embrace it and immerse into it.
I actually wrote a piece about it a day ago.
https://blog.tarab.ai/p/evolution-mi-and-the-forgotten-human
Sorry for the “self promotion”, but it’s a direct relation to the topic.
Related
AI's Cognitive Mirror: The Illusion of Consciousness in the Digital Age
The article explores AI's limitations in developing spiritual consciousness due to lacking sensory perception like humans. It discusses AI's strengths in abstract thought but warns of errors and biases. It touches on AI worship, language models, and the need for safeguards.
The Danger of Superhuman AI Is Not What You Think
Shannon Vallor critiques the narrative equating advanced AI with superhuman capabilities, arguing it undermines human agency and essential qualities like consciousness and empathy, urging a nuanced understanding of intelligence.
Will humans ever become conscious?
Jiddu Krishnamurti expressed concerns about AI fostering a mechanistic mindset, urging the cultivation of non-mechanical aspects of the mind to preserve human identity and encourage introspection amid technological advancement.
The Clever Hans Effect, Iterative LLM Prompting, and Socrates' Meno
The relationship between AI and human intelligence is debated, with large language models creating an illusion of intelligence through interaction, emphasizing AI's role in enhancing human inquiry rather than replicating cognition.
AI Is the Black Mirror
Shannon Vallor's book "The AI Mirror" argues that AI reflects human intelligence, not replicates it, warning that misconceptions about AI can undermine human reasoning and agency, emphasizing the importance of lived experience.