But Google was quick to shut down claims that one of its programs had advanced so much that it had become sentient. But the belief that Google's AI could be sentient arguably highlights both our fears and expectations for what this technology can do. The engineer, Blake Lemoine, reportedly told the Washington Post that he shared evidence with Google that LaMDA was sentient, but the company didn't agree. (That piece now includes an editor's note pointing out that Lemoine has since "reportedly been placed on leave after claiming in an interview with the Washington Post that LaMDA, Google's chatbot, had become 'sentient.'") "Of course, some in the broader AI community are considering the long-term possibility of sentient or general AI, but it doesn't make sense to do so by anthropomorphizing today's conversational models, which are not sentient," the company said.

Source: CNN June 15, 2022 00:57 UTC