What’s a banana? Some people argue that AI chatbots aren’t sentient because they don’t understand what they’re saying. However, some argue that many humans don’t know what they’re saying either. Take the word “banana,” which many people use in reference to the Cavendish banana. However, there are countless other banana varieties in the world. If a person doesn’t know all of these varieties, does that mean they aren’t sentient? Theorists postulate that we should ask ourselves not what makes AI sentient, but what makes people sentient. Read full article here
Research
Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable
The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here
Merv
March 12, 2023
