Q&A: How Is It Possible That AI Understands Language
How Is It Possible That AI Understands Language
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Recently I saw a short video that nicely explains how AI works in the area of language:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPZh9BOjkQs
I seem to remember that somewhere in the past you said that AI does not really understand concepts, but only imitates the way human beings speak. But I still can’t understand how it manages to put together coherent sentences and come up with ideas. After all, we human beings have cognitive tools and a grasp of concepts, intuitions, and other abilities that AI does not have. And yet it somehow manages to overcome that gap. Do you have any explanation for this wonder?
Answer
I don’t understand what kind of explanation you need for this wonder. It is simply a fact that such a mechanism succeeds in imitating human understanding. Do you have an explanation for the wonder that objects with mass fall toward the earth? No. That is the law of gravity, which is part of the laws of nature.
Of course, you can be amazed by the level of AI’s achievements—that is, not understand how such a relatively simple mechanical mechanism reaches them (I would have expected that a much more complex mechanical mechanism would be required). But in the mere ability of a mechanical mechanism to imitate human beings on the external, phenomenological plane, I don’t see what is so wondrous or why any explanation is required.
See John Searle’s Chinese Room example. There the “understanding” of input-output like that of a computer is demonstrated, and the difference between that and a human being. https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%97%D7%93%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99