Date: March 26-27, 2025 (Wednesday, Thursday) Time: 09:30 – 16:30 (Programme rundown will be provided later) Venue: 11/F, Cheng Yu Tung Tower, HKU Registration: here Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong Prof Darrell Rowbottom, Lingnan University Prof Jiji Zhang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Dr Pak-Hang Wong, Hong Kong Baptist University Dr Jun Otsuka, Kyoto University …
Abstract: The idea that advances in the cognitive capacities of foundation models like LLMs will lead to a period of rapid, recursive self-improvement — an “intelligence explosion” or “technological singularity” — has recently come under sustained criticism by academic philosophers. I evaluate the extent to which this criticism successfully undermines the argument for a singularity, …
Abstract: A common view is that a normal human assertion is successful only if (i) the speaker utters words which express what they intend to express, and (ii) the hearer comes to believe what is expressed. We examine how this picture looks on the hypothesis that LLMs can make assertions. In particular, we ask whether …
Meaning and the Mechanics of Production in LLMs (with Kyle Mahowald) Read More »
Abstract: Can AI systems such as ChatGPT think? This paper presents an argument from rationality for the negative answer to this question. The argument is founded on two central ideas. The first is that if ChatGPT thinks, it is not rational, in the sense that it does not respond correctly to its evidence. The second …
Abstract: LLMs have dramatically improved in capabilities in recent years. This raises the question of whether LLMs could become genuine agents with beliefs and desires. This paper demonstrates an in principle limit to LLM agency, based on their architecture. LLMs are next word predictors: given a string of text, they calculate the probability that various …
Date: December 9-10, 2024 (Monday, Tuesday) Time: 09:30 – 16:30 Venue: CPD-3.04, Run Run Shaw Tower, HKU Registration: here Alien Contents and Alien Metasemantics (with Prof Herman Cappelen) Prof Joshua Dever, University of Texas at Austin Aliens, Octopuses, and Robots, Again Prof Lawrence Shapiro, University of Wisconsin-Madison Aliens, Octopuses, and Robots, Again Prof Thomas Polger, University of Cincinnati What remains …
Date: May 3, 2024 (Friday) Time: 14:00 – 16:00 Venue: CPD 2.42, HKU Centennial Campus Speaker: Kathryn Goldstein, HKU Registration: https://hku.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cwDbZRfzjnQDbAq This workshop will discuss plagiarism and ethical use of ChatGPT, but we’ll also work on building up prompt engineering skills. Examples of specific skills students will learn, using prompt engineering: Use ChatGPT as a …
Speaker: Dr Rachel Robertson, Hong Kong Baptist University Abstract: This talk argues that AI ought to support the acquisition and exercise of integrity: the alignment within and between our thoughts, motivations, identities, and interactions with each other and the world. I will argue that an integrity-centred framework is very useful for assessing cognitive, normative, and …
Speaker: Prof Suzuki Takayuki, The University of Tokyo Abstract: Classical AI, which has been dominant until 1980s in AI research, regarded thinking as computation, that is, formal manipulation of symbols. Though this approach worked well in simple tasks, it has repeatedly failed in dealing with difficult tasks. One fundamental problem is that it is extremely …
Updating Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence in the Age of Deep Learning and LLM Read More »
Speaker: Prof Jiji Zhang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Abstract: It is now common to call biased algorithmic predictions “unfair”, and many criteria of fairness have been proposed to serve as side constraints in the training of predictive models for optimal predictive accuracy or as parts of the objective function to be optimized along …
On the Alleged Trade-Off Between Accuracy and Fairness of Algorithmic Predictions Read More »