Memory, Consciousness and Large Language Model
Jitang Li, Jinzheng Li
arXiv.org January 4, 2024 preprint DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2401.02509 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Linguistics |
| Key points | Proposes that a duality exists between LLMs and Tulving's theory of memory, with the synergistic ecphory model corresponding to emergent abilities in LLMs. Argues that consciousness may be an emergent ability arising from this duality, and relates these ideas to other theories of consciousness. |
Abstract
With the development in cognitive science and Large Language Models (LLMs), increasing connections have come to light between these two distinct fields. Building upon these connections, we propose a conjecture suggesting the existence of a duality between LLMs and Tulving's theory of memory. We identify a potential correspondence between Tulving's synergistic ecphory model (SEM) of retrieval and the emergent abilities observed in LLMs, serving as supporting evidence for our conjecture. Furthermore, we speculate that consciousness may be considered a form of emergent ability based on this duality. We also discuss how other theories of consciousness intersect with our research.