#020 | 🎧 Will AI Ever Understand Language Like Humans?"
Explore whether AI truly understands language or just mimics it. Brown University's Ellie Pavlick discusses how large language models process language compared to humans.
Show: The Joy of Why
Episode Duration: 41 minutes
Release Date: May 1, 2025
Guest: Ellie Pavlick, Brown University
This episode explores whether large language models (LLMs) truly understand language or merely simulate understanding through sophisticated pattern matching. Despite their impressive ability to generate human-like text and answer questions, LLMs remain "black boxes" that cannot explain their reasoning processes.
Why It Matters
Understanding how LLMs work - or don't work - compared to human language processing has implications for both AI development and our understanding of human cognition, creativity, and knowledge acquisition.
This episode is particularly relevant for anyone interested in AI capabilities, limitations, and the ongoing debate about machine consciousness and understanding.