#126 Noam Chomsky: Decoding the Human Mind & Neural Nets
Welcome to episode #126 of Eye on AI with Craig Smith and Noam Chomsky. Are neural nets the key to understanding the human brain and language acquisition? In this conversation with renowned linguist and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky, we delve into the limitations of large language models and the ongoing quest to uncover the mysteries of the human mind. Together, we explore the historical development of research in this field, from Minsky's thesis to Jeff Hinton's goals for understanding the brain. We also discuss the potential harms and benefits of large language models, comparing them to the internal combustion engine and its differences from a gazelle running. We tackle the difficult task of studying the neurophysiology of human cognition and the ethical implications of invasive experiments. As we consider language as a natural object, we discuss the works of notable figures such as Albert Einstein, Galileo, Leibniz, and Turing, and the similarities between language and biology. We even entertain the possibility of extraterrestrial language and communication. Join us on this thought-provoking journey as we explore the intricacies of language, the brain, and our place in the cosmos. (00:00) Preview
(00:43) Introduction
(01:54) Noam Chomsky's neural net ideology & criticisms
(6:58) Jeff Hinton & Noam Chomsky's: How the brain works
(10:05) Correlation between neural nets and the brain
(11:11) Noam Chomsky's reaction to Chat-GPT & LLMs
(15:21) Exploring the mechanisms of the brain
(19:00) What do we learn from chatbots?
(22:30) What are impossible languages?
(26:45) Generative AI doesn't show true intelligence?
(28:40) Is there a danger of AI becoming too intelligent?
(31:30) Can AI language models become sentient?
(36:40) Turing machine and neural nets experimentations
(42:40) Non-evasive procedures for understanding the brain
(45:54) Does Noam Chomsky still work on understanding the brain?
(49:33) Is Noam Chomsky excited about the future of neural nets?
(55:30) Albert Einstein and Galileo's principles
(55:40) Is there an extraterrestrial language model?
Craig Smith Twitter: https://twitter.com/craigss
Eye on A.I. Twitter: https://twitter.com/EyeOn_AI
#316 – Noam Chomsky: Putin, Ukraine, China, and Nuclear War
Noam Chomsky is a linguist, philosopher, and political activist. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:28) – Putin’s motivations
(20:35) – War in Ukraine
(27:37) – Propaganda
(35:01) – China and American relations
(50:02) – Hope for humanity
MLST #78 - Prof. NOAM CHOMSKY (Special Edition)
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mlst
Discord: https://discord.gg/ESrGqhf5CB
In this special edition episode, we have a conversation with Prof. Noam Chomsky, the father of modern linguistics and the most important intellectual of the 20th century.
With a career spanning the better part of a century, we took the chance to ask Prof. Chomsky his thoughts not only on the progress of linguistics and cognitive science but also the deepest enduring mysteries of science and philosophy as a whole - exploring what may lie beyond our limits of understanding. We also discuss the rise of connectionism and large language models, our quest to discover an intelligible world, and the boundaries between silicon and biology.
We explore some of the profound misunderstandings of linguistics in general and Chomsky’s own work specifically which have persisted, at the highest levels of academia for over sixty years.
We have produced a significant introduction section where we discuss in detail Yann LeCun’s recent position paper on AGI, a recent paper on emergence in LLMs, empiricism related to cognitive science, cognitive templates, “the ghost in the machine” and language.
Panel:
Dr. Tim Scarfe
Dr. Keith Duggar
Dr. Walid Saba
YT version: https://youtu.be/-9I4SgkHpcA
00:00:00 Kick off
00:02:24 C1: LeCun's recent position paper on AI, JEPA, Schmidhuber, EBMs
00:48:38 C2: Emergent abilities in LLMs paper
00:51:32 C3: Empiricism
01:25:33 C4: Cognitive Templates
01:35:47 C5: The Ghost in the Machine
01:59:21 C6: Connectionism and Cognitive Architecture: A Critical Analysis by Fodor and Pylyshyn
02:19:25 C7: We deep-faked Chomsky
02:29:11 C8: Language
02:34:41 C9: Chomsky interview kick-off!
02:35:39 Large Language Models such as GPT-3
02:39:14 Connectionism and radical empiricism
02:44:44 Hybrid systems such as neurosymbolic
02:48:47 Computationalism silicon vs biological
02:53:28 Limits of human understanding
03:00:46 Semantics state-of-the-art
03:06:43 Universal grammar, I-Language, and language of thought
03:16:27 Profound and enduring misunderstandings
03:25:41 Greatest remaining mysteries science and philosophy
03:33:10 Debrief and 'Chuckles' from Chomsky
Noam Chomsky: Language, Cognition, and Deep Learning
Noam Chomsky is one of the greatest minds of our time and is one of the most cited scholars in history. He is a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. He has spent over 60 years at MIT and recently also joined the University of Arizona.
This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.
This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code “LexPodcast”.
Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
00:00 – Introduction
03:59 – Common language with an alience species
05:46 – Structure of language
07:18 – Roots of language in our brain
08:51 – Language and thought
09:44 – The limit of human cognition
16:48 – Neuralink
19:32 – Deepest property of language
22:13 – Limits of deep learning
28:01 – Good and evil
29:52 – Memorable experiences
33:29 – Mortality
34:23 – Meaning of life