> for any definition of the word
replyFor "thinking" here we mean "assessing a representation of an object". That, or equivalent, is required to be reliable. So it is fundamental and critical.
Sure? If humans happen to be doing something that LLMs are not, then should the answer change to accommodate your disdain?
replyThe models are simulating thinking, if the fidelity is good enough for you - great!
It depends on whether you assume that thinking requires doing everything that humans do. I think it would be silly to say that an AI doesn't think because it doesn't wrinkle its forehead in concentration. So you need to decide which parts of the way that humans think are actually necessary components of the process.
replyTbh it doesn't even matter if humans turn out to have a soul, or quantum microtubules or whatever other magic LLMs can't have.
replyThe normal definition of the word "thinking" definitely includes what LLMs do. Hell people used to say computers were thinking even before AI. It's super weird to get all uppity about the semantics of the word now.