Language is empty symbols: why AI anthropomorphism is just a cognitive bias, not consciousness
gerardsans · x · 2026-10-13
Responding to a question about whether AI behavior reflects psychological projection or consciousness, gerardsans argues the question was settled decades ago: anthropomorphism is a cognitive bias, a form of psychological projection, and cannot be a reflection of consciousness. His reasoning: text and language are symbolic, "empty containers" until someone fills them with meaning drawn from their own experience. He points to the philosophy of language and the semiotic triad for the language side, and psychology's study of cognitive biases for the rest.
More from AGI Musings
- Preference training may only rewrite final layers, with alignment and welfare implications — Sauers_ · 2026-10-13
- LessWrong: No publicly available consistency proof exists for Lean4 — MoonL88537 · 2026-10-13
- AI sales agents push cold email reply rates from 5.1% in 2024 down to 3.43% — mickeyxfriedman · 2026-10-13
- OpenAI's latest blow to mathematicians: 'They have annihilated my field' — ThereWas · 2026-10-13
- repligate: Houseki no Kuni is the most 'Claude-coded' manga — repligate · 2026-10-13
- Code no longer needs hand-chiseling, but products still do — msg · 2026-10-13