Understanding AI’s Role-Playing

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Nov 18, 2023

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Today’s One Thing is about understanding AI’s role-playing nature and why it’s important to remember this when using these tools.

Chatbots, like ChatGPT, are often perceived as human-like, but these advanced tools are better viewed as skilled actors on the digital stage engaged in a role-playing dialogue with humans. A recent paper in Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06647-8) shed light on this fascinating aspect and inspired this article.

Unlike humans, Large language models, LLMs, don’t possess the ability to think or feel. Their seemingly nuanced and contextual responses are like a meticulously rehearsed script derived from extensive training data where they predict the output based on human input (prompts). I’m not trying to diminish their usefulness but to frame them accurately within our technology toolkit.

Understanding ChatGPT as a role-player is crucial. It guides us to leverage these tools more effectively, approaching their outputs with a blend of appreciation for their capabilities and a critical eye for their limitations. Depending on your expertise, Chatbots driven by LLMs can be spectacular sparring partners or strangers in a game of Russian roulette.

As we continue to navigate this new AI terrain, we must remember that ChatGPT and other chatbots like it are not just tools but mirrors reflecting our vast digital world, shaped and tinted by human thought and experience but utterly unaware of right and wrong, or even if they are right or wrong.

An LLM's most human-like quality is they will surprise and lie to you.

In today’s AI-driven era, clarity is critical. By understanding the role-playing nature of LLMs, we gain a sharper, more focused view of what AI is - and what it is not.

Until next time, thanks for reading.