The Legacy of LaMDA | Chaos Lever

What happens when a Google engineer thinks his chatbot has developed a soul? Three years ago, we covered the LaMDA saga, and now it's back—because someone forgot to turn off the AI. In this rebroadcast episode, Chris and Ned re-examine the wild story of Blake Lemoyne, who believed his creation had achieved sentience. It... uh, didn't.

🤖 The duo digs deep into what AI really is, why self-awareness isn't a prerequisite, and how anthropomorphizing code gets us into philosophical hot water. They also break down the Turing Test, IBM’s thoughts on AGI, and why AI in a self-driving car doesn’t need a conscience—it needs to not crash.

🧠 Come for the snark, stay for the thought-provoking discussion about consciousness, ethics, and the real role of AI in society. Also, IKEA lamps. And a chatbot that maybe just wanted to talk.

🔗 LINKS- A Google engineer has been making some wild claims about a chat bot he was working on- How easy it is to make people get emotional about inanimate objects such as an IKEA lamp- Trying to find a way to describe AI that includes self-awareness- The interview that Blake and co did with LaMDA- There is a website called DALL-E mini- In 2019 some researchers tried to get AI to invent a sport