Borges and AI
This offers a philosophical and cultural reframing for researchers and theorists grappling with AI's implications, but it is incremental as it shifts mental models rather than providing technical solutions.
The paper tackles the problem of understanding Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI by critiquing the prevalent science fiction imagery, advocating instead for a perspective based on Jorge Luis Borges's literary imagery to illuminate their relationship.
Many believe that Large Language Models (LLMs) open the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some see opportunities while others see dangers. Yet both proponents and opponents grasp AI through the imagery popularised by science fiction. Will the machine become sentient and rebel against its creators? Will we experience a paperclip apocalypse? Before answering such questions, we should first ask whether this mental imagery provides a good description of the phenomenon at hand. Understanding weather patterns through the moods of the gods only goes so far. The present paper instead advocates understanding LLMs and their connection to AI through the imagery of Jorge Luis Borges, a master of 20th century literature, forerunner of magical realism, and precursor to postmodern literature. This exercise leads to a new perspective that illuminates the relation between language modelling and artificial intelligence.