Does AI actually understand us, and what does it mean to understand?

Today's Episode: ChatGPT is the hot topic of the day and, much like when google first came out, it still feels magic to use. However, it raises several bigger questions to match. Some are practical, but many are a bit deeper. On the practical side: what happens when AI is doing all the work, will enough be left for us? How should we renumerate people to survive, if not for work? On the philosophical side: does AI ACTUALLY understand me? What does it even mean to understand? If AI reaches the point where for all intents and purposes it perfectly mimics (or even improves on) understanding...does it matter that there's no thinking, feeling thing behind the code? I mean, how do I know that anyone else is more than an input -> output machine with a conscious experience inbetween? My own is the only one I can verify afterall. We discuss this and more in our first episode exploring AI, focusing on understanding. We explain the distinction between functional and phenomenal understanding and use thought experiments like The Chinese Room to highlight the point. Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon, go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you're a fan of the show, we'd love to chat to you! Book a call with us here and it'll feel like being on one of our episodes: https://calendly.com/jacob-stasher/user-research And if you want to give us feedback via our survey, please fill that in here: https://forms.gle/xMjvDbsipam1RAwg6 If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription of just $1 goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel pretty great too. https://www.patreon.com/moedt. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices