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Tripwir62 OP t1_je2injl wrote

Reply to comment by MindSpecter in Does ChatGPT have a sense of humor? by Tripwir62

I wasn’t making an analogy. I was asking whether a machine that could identify smells would be regarded as having a “sense of smell.” My view is that I don’t think there’s much alternative. Happy to hear other ideas.

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MindSpecter t1_je2mqng wrote

I mean, I assume you were asking that question to make an analogy to the topic of AI and humor, but that was an assumption on part.

To answer your question, I think it depends. How the machine is identifying smells matters to the answer I would give. If it directly detects particles in the air and processes them similar to a biological nose, then I would say the machine can smell. If it deduces what the smell is by pairing datasets of information about objects and how their smells are categorized with a picture of a room, it does not have the ability to smell.

I hope that clarifies my thoughts!

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Tripwir62 OP t1_je2qbza wrote

Thanks. You're right. It indeed might get to exactly what you're suggesting. But for now though, the topic of smell is so unique, and separated from cognition, that I thought it might lead to an interesting discussion on its own. For me, I can't quite understand why I should care how it does it. If a machine can identify aromas, what is it that's stopping me from saying "it can smell?" If there's a difference in the process it uses, is that difference important? Why?

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MindSpecter t1_je2sle1 wrote

That's an excellent question! I think it's worth clarifying since people tend to anthropomorphize AI and assume they are seeing a more human process than what is really going on.

We saw this a little with Siri and Google assistant being able to tell jokes and people saying "Siri has a great sense of humor." But really it is just running some preset jokes when asked.

With Chat GPT, it's looking over a bunch of text data and the algorithm is drawing words together based on patterns it has recognized. It will even type out laughter and respond like a human would. The illusion is rather convincing, but it is not processing the joke, internally reacting to it with a sense of laughter, and then expressing an emotion. It's just generating text that it predicts is appropriate for the situation based on its trained data set.

Saying "it can smell" or "it has a sense of humor" ascribes a level of experience that the system does not possess.

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Tripwir62 OP t1_je3gmys wrote

ChatGPT takes the middle ground on this question:

Me: Suppose a machine was able to accurately identify all aromas. Independent of how it was able to achieve that, would it be reasonable for humans to observe that the "machine can smell?"

GPT: It would depend on how one defines the term "smell." If we define "smell" as the ability to detect and identify odors, then a machine that is able to accurately identify all aromas could be considered to "smell" in a technical sense. However, if we define "smell" as a sensory experience that is unique to humans and other animals, then it would not be accurate to say that a machine can "smell" in the same way that humans can.
The ability to detect and identify odors is just one aspect of the complex sensory experience of smell that humans and animals have. Smell involves not only the detection of odor molecules but also the processing of this information by the brain to create a perception of smell that is unique to each individual. This involves the integration of multiple sensory inputs and the interpretation of this information in the context of past experiences and memories.
Therefore, while a machine may be able to identify odors with great accuracy, it cannot replicate the full sensory experience of smell that humans and animals have. So, while it may be technically accurate to say that a machine can "smell" in a limited sense, it would be important to clarify what we mean by the term and recognize the differences between a machine's ability to identify odors and the complex sensory experience of smell that humans and animals have.

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MindSpecter t1_je3h88z wrote

That's precisely what I've been trying to say. Maybe less eloquently. My definition involves the experience element, so I follow that line of logic.

I asked chat GPT if it has a sense of humor and it responded with: "A sense of humor refers to the ability to appreciate and find humor in situations, experiences, or verbal expressions. It can involve making others laugh, finding amusement in things that others might not, and being able to laugh at oneself.

As an artificial intelligence language model, I don't have the capacity to experience emotions or find things humorous in the way humans do. However, I am programmed to understand and generate jokes, puns, and other forms of humor that humans enjoy."

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