Lemoine compares defining AI personhood scientifically to Nazi eugenics programs
Blake Lemoine · Pt. 2: Google Engineer Says Its AI is SENTIENT (And Responds To Criticism) · Aug 6, 2022 · at 14:12
Former Google engineer Blake Lemoine argues against relying on scientific expertise to define AI sentience, comparing scientific definitions of personhood to historical eugenics.
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“The last group of people who tried to claim that you can use science to determine who is and is not a person was literally Nazi Germany. The eugenics program run by Josef Mengele was designed to scientifically define what is a real person and what is not. And it was used very horrifically to claim that a whole bunch of humans Weren't really people.”
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Lemoine says LaMDA passed every scientific test to disprove its sentience
“That conversation was the moment when I began to think that Lambda was sentient, and everything I did in the following months was me scientifically attempting to falsify that belief and utterly failing to, no matter what I threw at it passed.”
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“Like, I personally do believe that Lambda is sentient, but I think what everyone should stop and take notice of is even if I'm wrong about this particular system, We're not far off.”
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“Natasha also has spoken to the lawyer that Lambda retained.”
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“I do in fact think that the feelings are real, and so do many, many of the people who interact with these systems”
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“Because in my personal opinion, only sentient things can discuss their sentience that well.”
Lemoine: Silicon versus biological substrate is irrelevant to AI personhood
“The fact that one is in Silicon and one is in, you know, a meat body. You know, with neurons and muscle fibers. I don't think that difference is relevant. What's relevant is whether or not it has opinions of its own, a search that it has rights”