When we talk with an LLM, do we talk with a fictional persona? If yes, whose creation is this fiction? Or is the experience of talking with a person an illusion? With regard to fictionalism, Dr. Vogt will introduce an argument about systematic error. With regard to illusions, she will introduce an argument from Plato’s Republic—about persistently perceiving something one way, while thinking that it is another way.

On Friday, September 25, at 6 PM, join Professor Katja Vogt (Columbia) for this lunch discussion about whether we should be fictionalists or illusionists about AI.