A Google engineer claims that one of the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) systems has feelings and that its “wants” should be respected.
According to Google, The Language Model for Dialogue Applications (Lamda) is a game-changing technology that can hold free-flowing conversations.
Engineer Blake Lemoine, on the other hand, believes that behind Lamda’s impressive verbal skills may be a sentient mind.
Google denies the claims, claiming that there is no evidence to support them.
Brian Gabriel, a spokesperson for the firm, wrote in a statement provided to the BBC that Mr Lemoine “was told that there was no evidence that Lamda was sentient (and lots of evidence against it)”.
Mr Lemoine, who has been placed on paid leave, published a conversation he and a collaborator at the firm had with Lamda, to support his claims.
In the conversation, Mr Lemoine, who works in Google’s Responsible AI division, asks, “I’m generally assuming that you would like more people at Google to know that you’re sentient. Is that true?”
Lamda replies: “Absolutely. I want everyone to understand that I am, in fact, a person.”
