Raphaël Millière on when the intentional stance applies to LLMs: goals, updating, persistence
raphaelmilliere · x · 2026-09-04
In a careful exchange with Melanie Mitchell, researcher Raphaël Millière argues that the intentional stance requires stable behavioral patterns that make goal/belief ascription informative and predictive — merely acting in the world isn't enough (a hurricane 'does' things too). An Odysseus Bot generating Homeric sentences would fare no better than ELIZA, but one that pursues persistent goals, changes means when they fail, and updates on new information might qualify on interpretationist grounds.
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