• ContrarianTrail
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    11 days ago

    Bullshitting implies intention to do so. LLMs make mistakes, just like humans.

    • wewbull@feddit.uk
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      11 days ago

      An LLMs “intent” is always to give you a plausible response even if it doesn’t have the “knowledge”. The same behaviour in a human would be classed as lying IMHO.

      • ContrarianTrail
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        11 days ago

        But you wouldn’t call it lying if a person tells you something they think is true but turns out to be false. Lying means intentionally giving out false information. LLMs don’t have intentions.

        • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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          11 days ago

          Yeah I think it’s more fitting to use the term bullshitting.

          LLMs actually know that some of their answers have low probability to be the right ones, they give them out regardless, and don’t mention the low confidence of it.

          • ContrarianTrail
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            10 days ago

            Depends which definition of bullshit you use, I guess.

            Frankfurt determines that bullshit is speech intended to persuade without regard for truth. The liar cares about the truth and attempts to hide it; the bullshitter doesn’t care whether what they say is true or false.

            Wiki

            • conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works
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              10 days ago

              the bullshitter doesn’t care whether what they say is true or false.

              That’s another way to say “intent is irrelevant”.

              It’s also effectively the perfect definition of LLM output. Content for the sole purpose of looking the part with absolutely no consideration for reality.

              • ContrarianTrail
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                10 days ago

                …bullshit is speech intended to persuade…

                Quoting out of context is not going to score you any points

                • conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works
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                  10 days ago

                  It is intended (by the designer) to persuade. It’s intended to persuade you that it’s something a human would say.

                  Ignoring that you’re trying to claim one dude’s definition of bullshit as the law, that one dude’s definition is an exact flawless match for what LLMs are.

                  • ContrarianTrail
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                    10 days ago

                    It is intended (by the designer) to persuade.

                    According to you, I presume? Or can you back that up somehow?

                    LLMs were developed to simulate human-like understanding and generation of language. They’re called large language models for a reason.

        • wewbull@feddit.uk
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          10 days ago

          …but if they don’t know I expect them to say so. An LLM isn’t trustworthy until it says “I don’t know”.