this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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AI is a really bad term for what we are all talking about. These sophisticated chatbots are just cool tools that make coding easier and faster, and for me, more enjoyable.
What the calculator is to math, LLM’s are to coding, nothing more. Actual sci-fi style AI, like self aware code, would be scary if it was ever demonstrated to even be possible, which it has not.
If you ever have a chance to use these programs to help you speed up writing code, you will see that they absolutely do not live up to the hype attributed to them. People shouting the end is nigh are seemingly exclusively people who don’t understand the technology.
I've never had to double check the results of my calculator by redoing the problem manually, either.
Yeah, this is the thing that always bothers me. Due to the very nature of them being large language models, they can generate convincing language. Also image "ai" can generate convincing images. Calling it AI is both a PR move for branding, and an attempt to conceal the fact that it's all just regurgitating bits of stolen copywritten content.
Everyone talks about AI "getting smarter", but by the very nature of how these types of algorithms work, they can't "get smarter". Yes, you can make them work better, but they will still only be either interpolating or extrapolating from the training set.
Haven't we started using AGI, or artificial general intelligence, as the term to describe the kind of AI you are referring to? That self aware intelligent software?
Now AI just means reactive coding designed to mimic certain behaviours, or even self learning algorithms.
That’s true, and language is constantly evolving for sure. I just feel like AI is a bit misleading because it’s such a loaded term.
I get what you mean, and I think a lot of laymen do have these unreasonable ideas about what LLMs are capable of, but as a counter point we have used the label AI to refer to very simple bits of code for decades eg video game characters.
AI is the correct term. It's the name of the field of study and anything that mimics intelligence is an AI.
Neural networks are a perfect example of an AI. What you actually code is very simple. A bunch of nodes that pass numbers forward through the system applying weights to the values. Their capabilities once trained far outstretch the simple code they run and seem intelligent.
What you are referring to is general AI.
It's a misnomer, but if you want to pass off LLMs as "artificial intelligence" on technicality of definition, you'd also have to include
etc.
Yes those are also examples of AI, see relevant Wikipedia article:
We need better terms to specify exactly what we mean, e.g. a numeric scale of intelligence or maybe even something more complex like a radar chart.
Indeed you do.
Neural networks are some of the original AIs.