Associated Press Stylebook's Artificial Intelligence Statement Sparks Controversy
The AP Stylebook's statement emphasizing that artificial intelligence systems lack emotions and thoughts has led to criticism in the industry.
The Associated Press Stylebook has released a new statement asserting that artificial intelligence systems do not think, feel, or understand. Shared on the platform X, this statement described the attribution of human traits to non-human entities like AI as anthropomorphism, sparking debates and backlash among AI experts and advocates.
Emphasis on Anthropomorphism
A statement released by the Associated Press Stylebook explicitly emphasized that attributing human characteristics to non-human objects such as artificial intelligence constitutes anthropomorphism.
The published text clearly stated that artificial intelligence systems do not think, feel, want, or understand.
Reactions and Criticism from Experts
This statement was met with backlash by experts and advocates working in the field of artificial intelligence, causing a widespread resonance in the industry.
Alan Rozenshtein of Anthropic's technical staff argued that a style guide should not make such metaphysical statements.
Inconsistency and Language Debates
Henry Shevlin, a philosopher and AI ethicist at Google DeepMind, criticized the AP for displaying inconsistency by pointing to the organization's film reviews that humanize fictional robots like Optimus Prime.
Dean Ball, head of strategic futures at OpenAI, argued that AIs clearly think and understand, stating that the desire to avoid anthropomorphic language has become a pathology.