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Our capacity for psychological projection of our unconscious desires onto inanimate objects is quite amazing. Given what is possible in terms of projection onto things as random as Ouija boards, tealeaves or Tarot cards, I'm surprised this sort of thing isn't more common with LLMs that sound just like conscious beings.


It’s true, we’re so good at it because it’s what we do with each other too. We can’t really feel another person’s consciousness except to project it.


This is why I don't think empathy, as it is commonly defined, exists.


Not completely, anyways. But I can empathize with someone who is cold at night and someone is who is a Miami Dolphins fan. Both are typically displeasant.




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