arXiv.orgJuly 30, 2026Junsol Kim, Winnie Street, R. Rocca et al.
preprint
Aligning large language models to prevent them attributing consciousness to themselves inadvertently alters their representations of mindedness in other entities alongside human beliefs and values. We demonstrate that safety fine-tuning suppresses models'tendencies to attribute minds not only to themselves, but also to non-human animals and natural objects, while also driving a reduction in...
Many people feel compelled to interpret, describe, and respond to Large Language Models (LLMs) as if they possess inner mental lives similar to our own. Responses to this phenomenon have varied. Inflationists hold that at least some folk psychological ascriptions to LLMs are warranted. Deflationists argue that all such attributions of mentality to LLMs are misplaced, often cautioning against...