#anthropomorphization — Public Fediverse posts

Do we say that a scientific method or tool or field of study "provides" things? 🤔 Do they "offer" things? Do they "achieve" things?

Do they even "combine" or "extend" things?

I feel like I should encourage my coauthor to reword sentences that endow inanimate methods with behaviours. Right?

Am I too obsessed with this? 😅

#anthropomorphization #editing #coauthorship #anthropomorphism

Do we say that a scientific method or tool or field of study "provides" things? 🤔 Do they "offer" things? Do they "achieve" things?

Do they even "combine" or "extend" things?

I feel like I should encourage my coauthor to reword sentences that endow inanimate methods with behaviours. Right?

Am I too obsessed with this? 😅

#anthropomorphization #editing #coauthorship #anthropomorphism

Do we say that a scientific method or tool or field of study "provides" things? 🤔 Do they "offer" things? Do they "achieve" things?

Do they even "combine" or "extend" things?

I feel like I should encourage my coauthor to reword sentences that endow inanimate methods with behaviours. Right?

Am I too obsessed with this? 😅

#anthropomorphization #editing #coauthorship #anthropomorphism

Do we say that a scientific method or tool or field of study "provides" things? 🤔 Do they "offer" things? Do they "achieve" things?

Do they even "combine" or "extend" things?

I feel like I should encourage my coauthor to reword sentences that endow inanimate methods with behaviours. Right?

Am I too obsessed with this? 😅

#anthropomorphization #editing #coauthorship #anthropomorphism

Do we say that a scientific method or tool or field of study "provides" things? 🤔 Do they "offer" things? Do they "achieve" things?

Do they even "combine" or "extend" things?

I feel like I should encourage my coauthor to reword sentences that endow inanimate methods with behaviours. Right?

Am I too obsessed with this? 😅

#anthropomorphization #editing #coauthorship #anthropomorphism

Sorry, but this feels utterly pedantic. Since language (and communication) are mostly social acts, the point of using language is just so that the speaker can make themselves more easily to understand by others and not to introduce noise in the transmission. You can invent your own language but you cannot convince others to talk with you through it. Even if anthropomorphization is a real danger when interacting with LLMs, just having a real notion of how the technology works is already very advantageous when using these tools.

"De-anthropomorphizing language talks about computer systems in terms of their functionality (what people build and/or use them to do), assigns agency to people using systems and not systems, and avoids aggrandizing metaphors about cognition.

We aim to find substitutes that are as self-explanatory as possible, so that you can just go ahead and use them without having to explain. (Though of course, if someone asks "Why are you calling it that?" that's also a great opening.)

Some of these rephrasings may feel a little clunky, and they can end up longer than the anthropomorphizing shorthand. This means it takes a little more dedication to use them, but also isn't necessarily a bad thing. We should stop and think about the tech we are using, or even discussing, and what it actually does.

We'll go through the categories of anthropomorphizing language we identified in Inie et al 2026, and give examples of de-anthropomorphized versions for each."

https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/how-to-talk-about-ai-without-adding-to-the

#Language #LLMs #Anthropomorphism #AI #Anthropomorphization

Sorry, but this feels utterly pedantic. Since language (and communication) are mostly social acts, the point of using language is just so that the speaker can make themselves more easily to understand by others and not to introduce noise in the transmission. You can invent your own language but you cannot convince others to talk with you through it. Even if anthropomorphization is a real danger when interacting with LLMs, just having a real notion of how the technology works is already very advantageous when using these tools.

"De-anthropomorphizing language talks about computer systems in terms of their functionality (what people build and/or use them to do), assigns agency to people using systems and not systems, and avoids aggrandizing metaphors about cognition.

We aim to find substitutes that are as self-explanatory as possible, so that you can just go ahead and use them without having to explain. (Though of course, if someone asks "Why are you calling it that?" that's also a great opening.)

Some of these rephrasings may feel a little clunky, and they can end up longer than the anthropomorphizing shorthand. This means it takes a little more dedication to use them, but also isn't necessarily a bad thing. We should stop and think about the tech we are using, or even discussing, and what it actually does.

We'll go through the categories of anthropomorphizing language we identified in Inie et al 2026, and give examples of de-anthropomorphized versions for each."

https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/how-to-talk-about-ai-without-adding-to-the

#Language #LLMs #Anthropomorphism #AI #Anthropomorphization

Sorry, but this feels utterly pedantic. Since language (and communication) are mostly social acts, the point of using language is just so that the speaker can make themselves more easily to understand by others and not to introduce noise in the transmission. You can invent your own language but you cannot convince others to talk with you through it. Even if anthropomorphization is a real danger when interacting with LLMs, just having a real notion of how the technology works is already very advantageous when using these tools.

"De-anthropomorphizing language talks about computer systems in terms of their functionality (what people build and/or use them to do), assigns agency to people using systems and not systems, and avoids aggrandizing metaphors about cognition.

We aim to find substitutes that are as self-explanatory as possible, so that you can just go ahead and use them without having to explain. (Though of course, if someone asks "Why are you calling it that?" that's also a great opening.)

Some of these rephrasings may feel a little clunky, and they can end up longer than the anthropomorphizing shorthand. This means it takes a little more dedication to use them, but also isn't necessarily a bad thing. We should stop and think about the tech we are using, or even discussing, and what it actually does.

We'll go through the categories of anthropomorphizing language we identified in Inie et al 2026, and give examples of de-anthropomorphized versions for each."

https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/how-to-talk-about-ai-without-adding-to-the

#Language #LLMs #Anthropomorphism #AI #Anthropomorphization

Sorry, but this feels utterly pedantic. Since language (and communication) are mostly social acts, the point of using language is just so that the speaker can make themselves more easily to understand by others and not to introduce noise in the transmission. You can invent your own language but you cannot convince others to talk with you through it. Even if anthropomorphization is a real danger when interacting with LLMs, just having a real notion of how the technology works is already very advantageous when using these tools.

"De-anthropomorphizing language talks about computer systems in terms of their functionality (what people build and/or use them to do), assigns agency to people using systems and not systems, and avoids aggrandizing metaphors about cognition.

We aim to find substitutes that are as self-explanatory as possible, so that you can just go ahead and use them without having to explain. (Though of course, if someone asks "Why are you calling it that?" that's also a great opening.)

Some of these rephrasings may feel a little clunky, and they can end up longer than the anthropomorphizing shorthand. This means it takes a little more dedication to use them, but also isn't necessarily a bad thing. We should stop and think about the tech we are using, or even discussing, and what it actually does.

We'll go through the categories of anthropomorphizing language we identified in Inie et al 2026, and give examples of de-anthropomorphized versions for each."

https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/how-to-talk-about-ai-without-adding-to-the

#Language #LLMs #Anthropomorphism #AI #Anthropomorphization

Sorry, but this feels utterly pedantic. Since language (and communication) are mostly social acts, the point of using language is just so that the speaker can make themselves more easily to understand by others and not to introduce noise in the transmission. You can invent your own language but you cannot convince others to talk with you through it. Even if anthropomorphization is a real danger when interacting with LLMs, just having a real notion of how the technology works is already very advantageous when using these tools.

"De-anthropomorphizing language talks about computer systems in terms of their functionality (what people build and/or use them to do), assigns agency to people using systems and not systems, and avoids aggrandizing metaphors about cognition.

We aim to find substitutes that are as self-explanatory as possible, so that you can just go ahead and use them without having to explain. (Though of course, if someone asks "Why are you calling it that?" that's also a great opening.)

Some of these rephrasings may feel a little clunky, and they can end up longer than the anthropomorphizing shorthand. This means it takes a little more dedication to use them, but also isn't necessarily a bad thing. We should stop and think about the tech we are using, or even discussing, and what it actually does.

We'll go through the categories of anthropomorphizing language we identified in Inie et al 2026, and give examples of de-anthropomorphized versions for each."

https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/how-to-talk-about-ai-without-adding-to-the

#Language #LLMs #Anthropomorphism #AI #Anthropomorphization

#AI #chatbot #LLMs #GenAI #anthropomorphization then sadly followed by #aipsychosis #aidelusion

Originally 1966 #ELIZAeffect coined by #Weizenbaum who escaped nazi germany as teenager, to become #mit #compsci pioneer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA_effect

programmed a simple psychiatrist #chatbot —JavaScript https://web.archive.org/web/20250114122616/https://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/eliza.html —
Typical answers:
- tell me more about that
- please go on

80s tv recreation of his unexpected surprise once #Eliza archaic bot deceived his secretary:
https://youtu.be/RMK9AphfLco

#AI #chatbot #LLMs #GenAI #anthropomorphization then sadly followed by #aipsychosis #aidelusion

Originally 1966 #ELIZAeffect coined by #Weizenbaum who escaped nazi germany as teenager, to become #mit #compsci pioneer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA_effect

programmed a simple psychiatrist #chatbot —JavaScript https://web.archive.org/web/20250114122616/https://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/eliza.html —
Typical answers:
- tell me more about that
- please go on

80s tv recreation of his unexpected surprise once #Eliza archaic bot deceived his secretary:
https://youtu.be/RMK9AphfLco

#AI #chatbot #LLMs #GenAI #anthropomorphization then sadly followed by #aipsychosis #aidelusion

Originally 1966 #ELIZAeffect coined by #Weizenbaum who escaped nazi germany as teenager, to become #mit #compsci pioneer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA_effect

programmed a simple psychiatrist #chatbot —JavaScript https://web.archive.org/web/20250114122616/https://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/eliza.html —
Typical answers:
- tell me more about that
- please go on

80s tv recreation of his unexpected surprise once #Eliza archaic bot deceived his secretary:
https://youtu.be/RMK9AphfLco

#AI #chatbot #LLMs #GenAI #anthropomorphization then sadly followed by #aipsychosis #aidelusion

Originally 1966 #ELIZAeffect coined by #Weizenbaum who escaped nazi germany as teenager, to become #mit #compsci pioneer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA_effect

programmed a simple psychiatrist #chatbot —JavaScript https://web.archive.org/web/20250114122616/https://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/eliza.html —
Typical answers:
- tell me more about that
- please go on

80s tv recreation of his unexpected surprise once #Eliza archaic bot deceived his secretary:
https://youtu.be/RMK9AphfLco

#AI #chatbot #LLMs #GenAI #anthropomorphization then sadly followed by #aipsychosis #aidelusion

Originally 1966 #ELIZAeffect coined by #Weizenbaum who escaped nazi germany as teenager, to become #mit #compsci pioneer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA_effect

programmed a simple psychiatrist #chatbot —JavaScript https://web.archive.org/web/20250114122616/https://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/eliza.html —
Typical answers:
- tell me more about that
- please go on

80s tv recreation of his unexpected surprise once #Eliza archaic bot deceived his secretary:
https://youtu.be/RMK9AphfLco

"We believe that language is a device to increase people’s “AI” literacy, helping them make informed choices about technology acceptance.

A more deliberate and thoughtful way forward is to talk about “AI” systems in terms of what we use systems to do, often specifying input and/or output. That is, talk about functionalities that serve our purposes, rather than “capabilities” of the system. Rather than saying a model is “good at” something (suggesting the model has skills) we can talk about what it is “good for”. Who is using the model to do something, and what are they using it to do?

It takes effort to swim upstream against anthropomorphizing language embedded in commonly-used technical terms and popular discourse, both in recognizing the language at all but also in finding suitable alternatives. Whether we are participating in local discussions making decisions for our workplaces, schools or communities or writing for broad audiences we share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language that embeds the tech companies’ marketing pitches."

https://www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-talk-about-how-we-talk-about-ai/

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #AIHype #Anthropomorphization #AILiteracy

"We believe that language is a device to increase people’s “AI” literacy, helping them make informed choices about technology acceptance.

A more deliberate and thoughtful way forward is to talk about “AI” systems in terms of what we use systems to do, often specifying input and/or output. That is, talk about functionalities that serve our purposes, rather than “capabilities” of the system. Rather than saying a model is “good at” something (suggesting the model has skills) we can talk about what it is “good for”. Who is using the model to do something, and what are they using it to do?

It takes effort to swim upstream against anthropomorphizing language embedded in commonly-used technical terms and popular discourse, both in recognizing the language at all but also in finding suitable alternatives. Whether we are participating in local discussions making decisions for our workplaces, schools or communities or writing for broad audiences we share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language that embeds the tech companies’ marketing pitches."

https://www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-talk-about-how-we-talk-about-ai/

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #AIHype #Anthropomorphization #AILiteracy

"We believe that language is a device to increase people’s “AI” literacy, helping them make informed choices about technology acceptance.

A more deliberate and thoughtful way forward is to talk about “AI” systems in terms of what we use systems to do, often specifying input and/or output. That is, talk about functionalities that serve our purposes, rather than “capabilities” of the system. Rather than saying a model is “good at” something (suggesting the model has skills) we can talk about what it is “good for”. Who is using the model to do something, and what are they using it to do?

It takes effort to swim upstream against anthropomorphizing language embedded in commonly-used technical terms and popular discourse, both in recognizing the language at all but also in finding suitable alternatives. Whether we are participating in local discussions making decisions for our workplaces, schools or communities or writing for broad audiences we share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language that embeds the tech companies’ marketing pitches."

https://www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-talk-about-how-we-talk-about-ai/

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #AIHype #Anthropomorphization #AILiteracy

"We believe that language is a device to increase people’s “AI” literacy, helping them make informed choices about technology acceptance.

A more deliberate and thoughtful way forward is to talk about “AI” systems in terms of what we use systems to do, often specifying input and/or output. That is, talk about functionalities that serve our purposes, rather than “capabilities” of the system. Rather than saying a model is “good at” something (suggesting the model has skills) we can talk about what it is “good for”. Who is using the model to do something, and what are they using it to do?

It takes effort to swim upstream against anthropomorphizing language embedded in commonly-used technical terms and popular discourse, both in recognizing the language at all but also in finding suitable alternatives. Whether we are participating in local discussions making decisions for our workplaces, schools or communities or writing for broad audiences we share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language that embeds the tech companies’ marketing pitches."

https://www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-talk-about-how-we-talk-about-ai/

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #AIHype #Anthropomorphization #AILiteracy

"We believe that language is a device to increase people’s “AI” literacy, helping them make informed choices about technology acceptance.

A more deliberate and thoughtful way forward is to talk about “AI” systems in terms of what we use systems to do, often specifying input and/or output. That is, talk about functionalities that serve our purposes, rather than “capabilities” of the system. Rather than saying a model is “good at” something (suggesting the model has skills) we can talk about what it is “good for”. Who is using the model to do something, and what are they using it to do?

It takes effort to swim upstream against anthropomorphizing language embedded in commonly-used technical terms and popular discourse, both in recognizing the language at all but also in finding suitable alternatives. Whether we are participating in local discussions making decisions for our workplaces, schools or communities or writing for broad audiences we share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language that embeds the tech companies’ marketing pitches."

https://www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-talk-about-how-we-talk-about-ai/

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #AIHype #Anthropomorphization #AILiteracy

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #HackadayColumns #death-cleaning #Hackadaylinks #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #Waymo

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #HackadayColumns #death-cleaning #Hackadaylinks #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #Waymo

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #HackadayColumns #death-cleaning #Hackadaylinks #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #Waymo

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #HackadayColumns #death-cleaning #Hackadaylinks #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #Waymo

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 - Are robotaxis poised to be the Next Big Thing in North America? It seems so, at le... - https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #hackadaycolumns #death-cleaning #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #waymo

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 - Are robotaxis poised to be the Next Big Thing in North America? It seems so, at le... - https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #hackadaycolumns #death-cleaning #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #waymo

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 - Are robotaxis poised to be the Next Big Thing in North America? It seems so, at le... - https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #hackadaycolumns #death-cleaning #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #waymo

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 - Are robotaxis poised to be the Next Big Thing in North America? It seems so, at le... - https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #hackadaycolumns #death-cleaning #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #waymo

Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025 - Are robotaxis poised to be the Next Big Thing in North America? It seems so, at le... - https://hackaday.com/2025/06/15/hackaday-links-june-15-2025/ #anthropomorphization #commercialization #hackadaycolumns #death-cleaning #hackadaylinks #self-driving #autonomous #dexterity #insurance #logistics #hoarding #robotaxi #figure #market #helix #tesla #waymo

Researchers Warn Against Treating #AI Outputs as Human-Like #Reasoning - Slashdot

#Arizona State University researchers are pushing back [PDF] against the widespread practice of describing AI language models' intermediate text generation as "reasoning" or "thinking," arguing this #anthropomorphization creates dangerous misconceptions about how these systems actually work

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/05/29/1411236/researchers-warn-against-treating-ai-outputs-as-human-like-reasoning?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Researchers Warn Against Treating #AI Outputs as Human-Like #Reasoning - Slashdot

#Arizona State University researchers are pushing back [PDF] against the widespread practice of describing AI language models' intermediate text generation as "reasoning" or "thinking," arguing this #anthropomorphization creates dangerous misconceptions about how these systems actually work

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/05/29/1411236/researchers-warn-against-treating-ai-outputs-as-human-like-reasoning?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Researchers Warn Against Treating #AI Outputs as Human-Like #Reasoning - Slashdot

#Arizona State University researchers are pushing back [PDF] against the widespread practice of describing AI language models' intermediate text generation as "reasoning" or "thinking," arguing this #anthropomorphization creates dangerous misconceptions about how these systems actually work

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/05/29/1411236/researchers-warn-against-treating-ai-outputs-as-human-like-reasoning?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Researchers Warn Against Treating #AI Outputs as Human-Like #Reasoning - Slashdot

#Arizona State University researchers are pushing back [PDF] against the widespread practice of describing AI language models' intermediate text generation as "reasoning" or "thinking," arguing this #anthropomorphization creates dangerous misconceptions about how these systems actually work

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/05/29/1411236/researchers-warn-against-treating-ai-outputs-as-human-like-reasoning?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Researchers Warn Against Treating #AI Outputs as Human-Like #Reasoning - Slashdot

#Arizona State University researchers are pushing back [PDF] against the widespread practice of describing AI language models' intermediate text generation as "reasoning" or "thinking," arguing this #anthropomorphization creates dangerous misconceptions about how these systems actually work

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/05/29/1411236/researchers-warn-against-treating-ai-outputs-as-human-like-reasoning?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

"We must stop giving AI human traits. My first interaction with GPT-3 rather seriously annoyed me. It pretended to be a person. It said it had feelings, ambitions, even consciousness.

That’s no longer the default behaviour, thankfully. But the style of interaction — the eerily natural flow of conversation — remains intact. And that, too, is convincing. Too convincing.

We need to de-anthropomorphise AI. Now. Strip it of its human mask. This should be easy. Companies could remove all reference to emotion, judgement or cognitive processing on the part of the AI. In particular, it should respond factually without ever saying “I”, or “I feel that”… or “I am curious”.

Will it happen? I doubt it. It reminds me of another warning we’ve ignored for over 20 years: “We need to cut CO₂ emissions.” Look where that got us. But we must warn big tech companies of the dangers associated with the humanisation of AIs. They are unlikely to play ball, but they should, especially if they are serious about developing more ethical AIs.

For now, this is what I do (because I too often get this eerie feeling that I am talking to a synthetic human when using ChatGPT or Claude): I instruct my AI not to address me by name. I ask it to call itself AI, to speak in the third person, and to avoid emotional or cognitive terms.

If I am using voice chat, I ask the AI to use a flat prosody and speak a bit like a robot. It is actually quite fun and keeps us both in our comfort zone."

https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-stop-pretending-ai-is-intelligent-heres-how-254090?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #Chatbots #Intelligence #Anthropomorphization

"We must stop giving AI human traits. My first interaction with GPT-3 rather seriously annoyed me. It pretended to be a person. It said it had feelings, ambitions, even consciousness.

That’s no longer the default behaviour, thankfully. But the style of interaction — the eerily natural flow of conversation — remains intact. And that, too, is convincing. Too convincing.

We need to de-anthropomorphise AI. Now. Strip it of its human mask. This should be easy. Companies could remove all reference to emotion, judgement or cognitive processing on the part of the AI. In particular, it should respond factually without ever saying “I”, or “I feel that”… or “I am curious”.

Will it happen? I doubt it. It reminds me of another warning we’ve ignored for over 20 years: “We need to cut CO₂ emissions.” Look where that got us. But we must warn big tech companies of the dangers associated with the humanisation of AIs. They are unlikely to play ball, but they should, especially if they are serious about developing more ethical AIs.

For now, this is what I do (because I too often get this eerie feeling that I am talking to a synthetic human when using ChatGPT or Claude): I instruct my AI not to address me by name. I ask it to call itself AI, to speak in the third person, and to avoid emotional or cognitive terms.

If I am using voice chat, I ask the AI to use a flat prosody and speak a bit like a robot. It is actually quite fun and keeps us both in our comfort zone."

https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-stop-pretending-ai-is-intelligent-heres-how-254090?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #Chatbots #Intelligence #Anthropomorphization

"We must stop giving AI human traits. My first interaction with GPT-3 rather seriously annoyed me. It pretended to be a person. It said it had feelings, ambitions, even consciousness.

That’s no longer the default behaviour, thankfully. But the style of interaction — the eerily natural flow of conversation — remains intact. And that, too, is convincing. Too convincing.

We need to de-anthropomorphise AI. Now. Strip it of its human mask. This should be easy. Companies could remove all reference to emotion, judgement or cognitive processing on the part of the AI. In particular, it should respond factually without ever saying “I”, or “I feel that”… or “I am curious”.

Will it happen? I doubt it. It reminds me of another warning we’ve ignored for over 20 years: “We need to cut CO₂ emissions.” Look where that got us. But we must warn big tech companies of the dangers associated with the humanisation of AIs. They are unlikely to play ball, but they should, especially if they are serious about developing more ethical AIs.

For now, this is what I do (because I too often get this eerie feeling that I am talking to a synthetic human when using ChatGPT or Claude): I instruct my AI not to address me by name. I ask it to call itself AI, to speak in the third person, and to avoid emotional or cognitive terms.

If I am using voice chat, I ask the AI to use a flat prosody and speak a bit like a robot. It is actually quite fun and keeps us both in our comfort zone."

https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-stop-pretending-ai-is-intelligent-heres-how-254090?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #Chatbots #Intelligence #Anthropomorphization

"We must stop giving AI human traits. My first interaction with GPT-3 rather seriously annoyed me. It pretended to be a person. It said it had feelings, ambitions, even consciousness.

That’s no longer the default behaviour, thankfully. But the style of interaction — the eerily natural flow of conversation — remains intact. And that, too, is convincing. Too convincing.

We need to de-anthropomorphise AI. Now. Strip it of its human mask. This should be easy. Companies could remove all reference to emotion, judgement or cognitive processing on the part of the AI. In particular, it should respond factually without ever saying “I”, or “I feel that”… or “I am curious”.

Will it happen? I doubt it. It reminds me of another warning we’ve ignored for over 20 years: “We need to cut CO₂ emissions.” Look where that got us. But we must warn big tech companies of the dangers associated with the humanisation of AIs. They are unlikely to play ball, but they should, especially if they are serious about developing more ethical AIs.

For now, this is what I do (because I too often get this eerie feeling that I am talking to a synthetic human when using ChatGPT or Claude): I instruct my AI not to address me by name. I ask it to call itself AI, to speak in the third person, and to avoid emotional or cognitive terms.

If I am using voice chat, I ask the AI to use a flat prosody and speak a bit like a robot. It is actually quite fun and keeps us both in our comfort zone."

https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-stop-pretending-ai-is-intelligent-heres-how-254090?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #Chatbots #Intelligence #Anthropomorphization

"We must stop giving AI human traits. My first interaction with GPT-3 rather seriously annoyed me. It pretended to be a person. It said it had feelings, ambitions, even consciousness.

That’s no longer the default behaviour, thankfully. But the style of interaction — the eerily natural flow of conversation — remains intact. And that, too, is convincing. Too convincing.

We need to de-anthropomorphise AI. Now. Strip it of its human mask. This should be easy. Companies could remove all reference to emotion, judgement or cognitive processing on the part of the AI. In particular, it should respond factually without ever saying “I”, or “I feel that”… or “I am curious”.

Will it happen? I doubt it. It reminds me of another warning we’ve ignored for over 20 years: “We need to cut CO₂ emissions.” Look where that got us. But we must warn big tech companies of the dangers associated with the humanisation of AIs. They are unlikely to play ball, but they should, especially if they are serious about developing more ethical AIs.

For now, this is what I do (because I too often get this eerie feeling that I am talking to a synthetic human when using ChatGPT or Claude): I instruct my AI not to address me by name. I ask it to call itself AI, to speak in the third person, and to avoid emotional or cognitive terms.

If I am using voice chat, I ask the AI to use a flat prosody and speak a bit like a robot. It is actually quite fun and keeps us both in our comfort zone."

https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-stop-pretending-ai-is-intelligent-heres-how-254090?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb

#AI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #Chatbots #Intelligence #Anthropomorphization

@clacke

Re. Not anthropomorphizing LLMs

I'm a sucker for this. Thankyou for writing about it. I'll apologise to an inanimate object if I walk into it.

I find useful practical tips for myself in following this to be:
1. Use the verb "I prompted" rather than I told or I asked.
2. State that the program "output" rather than it replied.
3. I don't discuss "confabulation" because it's an anthropomorphization (the reality is that the computer program is doing exactly what it is instructed to do by the user), but if I was compelled to anthropomorphize, I would use "confabulation" rather than hallucination.

I would be curious to know if you or any other readers had any more tips!

The following cartoon is from:
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/precise

#LLM #AI #GAN #programming #language #linguistics #metacognition #philosophy #computers #anthropomorphization #maths #mathematics #math

@clacke

Re. Not anthropomorphizing LLMs

I'm a sucker for this. Thankyou for writing about it. I'll apologise to an inanimate object if I walk into it.

I find useful practical tips for myself in following this to be:
1. Use the verb "I prompted" rather than I told or I asked.
2. State that the program "output" rather than it replied.
3. I don't discuss "confabulation" because it's an anthropomorphization (the reality is that the computer program is doing exactly what it is instructed to do by the user), but if I was compelled to anthropomorphize, I would use "confabulation" rather than hallucination.

I would be curious to know if you or any other readers had any more tips!

The following cartoon is from:
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/precise

#LLM #AI #GAN #programming #language #linguistics #metacognition #philosophy #computers #anthropomorphization #maths #mathematics #math

@clacke

Re. Not anthropomorphizing LLMs

I'm a sucker for this. Thankyou for writing about it. I'll apologise to an inanimate object if I walk into it.

I find useful practical tips for myself in following this to be:
1. Use the verb "I prompted" rather than I told or I asked.
2. State that the program "output" rather than it replied.
3. I don't discuss "confabulation" because it's an anthropomorphization (the reality is that the computer program is doing exactly what it is instructed to do by the user), but if I was compelled to anthropomorphize, I would use "confabulation" rather than hallucination.

I would be curious to know if you or any other readers had any more tips!

The following cartoon is from:
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/precise

#LLM #AI #GAN #programming #language #linguistics #metacognition #philosophy #computers #anthropomorphization #maths #mathematics #math

@clacke

Re. Not anthropomorphizing LLMs

I'm a sucker for this. Thankyou for writing about it. I'll apologise to an inanimate object if I walk into it.

I find useful practical tips for myself in following this to be:
1. Use the verb "I prompted" rather than I told or I asked.
2. State that the program "output" rather than it replied.
3. I don't discuss "confabulation" because it's an anthropomorphization (the reality is that the computer program is doing exactly what it is instructed to do by the user), but if I was compelled to anthropomorphize, I would use "confabulation" rather than hallucination.

I would be curious to know if you or any other readers had any more tips!

The following cartoon is from:
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/precise

#LLM #AI #GAN #programming #language #linguistics #metacognition #philosophy #computers #anthropomorphization #maths #mathematics #math

@clacke

Re. Not anthropomorphizing LLMs

I'm a sucker for this. Thankyou for writing about it. I'll apologise to an inanimate object if I walk into it.

I find useful practical tips for myself in following this to be:
1. Use the verb "I prompted" rather than I told or I asked.
2. State that the program "output" rather than it replied.
3. I don't discuss "confabulation" because it's an anthropomorphization (the reality is that the computer program is doing exactly what it is instructed to do by the user), but if I was compelled to anthropomorphize, I would use "confabulation" rather than hallucination.

I would be curious to know if you or any other readers had any more tips!

The following cartoon is from:
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/precise

#LLM #AI #GAN #programming #language #linguistics #metacognition #philosophy #computers #anthropomorphization #maths #mathematics #math

@philosophy Talk ahead in our upcoming workshop "Mensch Metapher Maschine. Das Selbst im Spiegel der Technik | Die Technik im Spiegel des Selbst" in Luxemburg on Monday and Tuesday.

I will analyze public and scientific practices of anthropomorphizing the non-human and of human self-#technomorphization.

#Philosophie #philosophy #AI #KI #Anthropomorphization

@philosophy Talk ahead in our upcoming workshop "Mensch Metapher Maschine. Das Selbst im Spiegel der Technik | Die Technik im Spiegel des Selbst" in Luxemburg on Monday and Tuesday.

I will analyze public and scientific practices of anthropomorphizing the non-human and of human self-#technomorphization.

#Philosophie #philosophy #AI #KI #Anthropomorphization

@philosophy Talk ahead in our upcoming workshop "Mensch Metapher Maschine. Das Selbst im Spiegel der Technik | Die Technik im Spiegel des Selbst" in Luxemburg on Monday and Tuesday.

I will analyze public and scientific practices of anthropomorphizing the non-human and of human self-#technomorphization.

#Philosophie #philosophy #AI #KI #Anthropomorphization

@philosophy Talk ahead in our upcoming workshop "Mensch Metapher Maschine. Das Selbst im Spiegel der Technik | Die Technik im Spiegel des Selbst" in Luxemburg on Monday and Tuesday.

I will analyze public and scientific practices of anthropomorphizing the non-human and of human self-#technomorphization.

#Philosophie #philosophy #AI #KI #Anthropomorphization

In this house we anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Our Peugot 107 is named Adora Belle Dearheart from Terry Pratchett. Our washing machine is named James like Jesse and James from Team Rocket because it sounds like he's going to take off and between the two of the gay Millenial icons seemed the more likely to take a load.

Now I have a bike. She weighs 17kg. She's a big girl. I felt that she was a Pam. Seemed like a good name for a apple-bottomed, southern girl in a sundress with a pollyanna mentality that would be down for a good ride in the country. Say hi to Pam. I ride her 5 km to work everyday.

#bike #anthropomorphization #life

In this house we anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Our Peugot 107 is named Adora Belle Dearheart from Terry Pratchett. Our washing machine is named James like Jesse and James from Team Rocket because it sounds like he's going to take off and between the two of the gay Millenial icons seemed the more likely to take a load.

Now I have a bike. She weighs 17kg. She's a big girl. I felt that she was a Pam. Seemed like a good name for a apple-bottomed, southern girl in a sundress with a pollyanna mentality that would be down for a good ride in the country. Say hi to Pam. I ride her 5 km to work everyday.

#bike #anthropomorphization #life

In this house we anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Our Peugot 107 is named Adora Belle Dearheart from Terry Pratchett. Our washing machine is named James like Jesse and James from Team Rocket because it sounds like he's going to take off and between the two of the gay Millenial icons seemed the more likely to take a load.

Now I have a bike. She weighs 17kg. She's a big girl. I felt that she was a Pam. Seemed like a good name for a apple-bottomed, southern girl in a sundress with a pollyanna mentality that would be down for a good ride in the country. Say hi to Pam. I ride her 5 km to work everyday.

#bike #anthropomorphization #life

In this house we anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Our Peugot 107 is named Adora Belle Dearheart from Terry Pratchett. Our washing machine is named James like Jesse and James from Team Rocket because it sounds like he's going to take off and between the two of the gay Millenial icons seemed the more likely to take a load.

Now I have a bike. She weighs 17kg. She's a big girl. I felt that she was a Pam. Seemed like a good name for a apple-bottomed, southern girl in a sundress with a pollyanna mentality that would be down for a good ride in the country. Say hi to Pam. I ride her 5 km to work everyday.

#bike #anthropomorphization #life

In this house we anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Our Peugot 107 is named Adora Belle Dearheart from Terry Pratchett. Our washing machine is named James like Jesse and James from Team Rocket because it sounds like he's going to take off and between the two of the gay Millenial icons seemed the more likely to take a load.

Now I have a bike. She weighs 17kg. She's a big girl. I felt that she was a Pam. Seemed like a good name for a apple-bottomed, southern girl in a sundress with a pollyanna mentality that would be down for a good ride in the country. Say hi to Pam. I ride her 5 km to work everyday.

#bike #anthropomorphization #life

Leidenfrost Effect. Macro. Slow Mo. 📺🌫️😂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWjhx0iISjw

#science #humor #anthropomorphization #theHorrorTheHorror

Leidenfrost Effect. Macro. Slow Mo. 📺🌫️😂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWjhx0iISjw

#science #humor #anthropomorphization #theHorrorTheHorror

Leidenfrost Effect. Macro. Slow Mo. 📺🌫️😂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWjhx0iISjw

#science #humor #anthropomorphization #theHorrorTheHorror

Leidenfrost Effect. Macro. Slow Mo. 📺🌫️😂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWjhx0iISjw

#science #humor #anthropomorphization #theHorrorTheHorror

Leidenfrost Effect. Macro. Slow Mo. 📺🌫️😂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWjhx0iISjw

#science #humor #anthropomorphization #theHorrorTheHorror

One word. #Anthropomorphization https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/111554885513300997

One word. #Anthropomorphization https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/111554885513300997