[ExI] GPT-4 on its inability to solve the symbol grounding problem

[Gordon Swobe]

GPT-4 explained to me that it could not solve the symbol grounding for
itself (I reported this in another thread). I asked it to explain the
significance.

My prompt: What is the significance of the fact that ChatGPT cannot solve
the symbol grounding problem for itself and can only simulate that it has
solved it? How does this put ChatGPT at a disadvantage compared to humans?

GPT-4: The symbol grounding problem refers to the difficulty in connecting
abstract symbols (such as words or concepts) to their real-world referents.
While ChatGPT can simulate understanding by generating human-like text
based on its training data, it doesn't possess the direct experience or
sensory input that humans have to ground these symbols in reality.

The significance of this limitation has several implications:

Lack of true understanding: ChatGPT doesn't have a genuine understanding of
the world, as it relies on patterns and associations found in the text it
was trained on. It can't form new connections based on direct experience,
which may result in limitations in problem-solving or abstract reasoning.

Difficulty with context: Without grounding in real-world experiences,
ChatGPT may struggle to fully understand context or cultural nuances. It
may provide answers that are technically correct but inappropriate or
irrelevant in a specific situation.

Inability to learn from sensory input: Humans learn through direct
experience and sensory input, which allows them to adapt and understand new
situations better. ChatGPT can't update its knowledge through real-world
experiences, making it less adaptable to novel contexts.

Absence of common sense: Although ChatGPT can generate text that appears to
show common sense understanding, it might still make errors that a human
would easily avoid. This is because its responses are based on patterns in
the data, rather than a true comprehension of the concepts.

Limited creativity: ChatGPT's creativity is confined to the scope of its
training data. While it can generate new text based on patterns it has seen
before, it can't create truly novel ideas or solutions in the same way that
humans, with their real-world grounding, can.

In summary, the inability to solve the symbol grounding problem puts
ChatGPT at a disadvantage compared to humans in terms of true
understanding, adaptability, context-awareness, common sense, and
creativity. However, it is essential to remember that ChatGPT is an AI
language model designed to assist and augment human capabilities, not to
fully replicate human cognition.
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