How LLMs Might Think
arXiv:2604.09674 · doi:10.1111/mila.70049
summary
The paper examines whether large language models can be said to think, arguing that while they likely do not engage in rational thought, they may exhibit a form of arational, purely associative cognition.
Abstract
Do large language models (LLMs) think? Daniel Stoljar and Zhihe Vincent Zhang have recently developed an argument from rationality for the claim that LLMs do not think. We contend, however, that the argument from rationality not only falters, but leaves open an intriguing possibility: that LLMs engage only in arational, associative forms of thinking, and have purely associative minds. Our positive claim is that if LLMs think at all, they likely think precisely in this manner.
Topics & keywords
#large language models#philosophy of mind#rationality#associative cognition#AI consciousnessLLMarational thinkingassociative mindrationality argumentcognitive architecture