CALL FOR PAPERS
LLMs and the Patterns of Human Language Use (Hybrid Workshop)
Berlin (Weizenbaum Institute / TU Berlin) & online
August 29-30, 2024
https://www.denkwerkstatt.berlin/NEXT-EVENT
Submission deadline: April 15, 2024
Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and other generative AI systems are the subject of widespread discussions. They are often used to produce output that ‘makes sense’ in the context of a prompt, such as completing or modifying a text, answering questions, or generating an image or video from a description. However, little is yet known about the possibilities and implications of human-sounding machines entering human communication. The seemingly human-like output of LLMs masks a fundamental difference: LLMs model statistical patterns in huge text corpora, patterns that humans are not normally aware of. Humans do perceive patterns at various levels, but when we produce ordinary language, we do not explicitly compute statistical frequency distributions.
The workshop aims at an interdisciplinary and philosophical understanding of the processing of statistical patterns of LLMs and their possible function in communicative exchange. In the controversy about the communicative potential of LLMs, we start from the thesis that LLMs do not understand meaning and investigate the extent to which they can nevertheless play a role in communication when people interact with them. To this end, concrete examples of LLM applications, such as the use of LLMs in software engineering and for whistleblower protection, will be explained by and discussed with their developers. This is important not only for a better understanding of the kinds of exchanges that are possible with LLMs, but also for the question of how far we can trust them and which uses are ethically acceptable.
Organizers: Bettina Berendt, Christoph Durt, Sybille Krämer, Anna Strasser
Confirmed speakers: Bettina Berendt & Dimitri Staufer, Stefania Centrone, Christoph Durt & Tobias Hey, Elena Esposito, David Gunkel, Sybille Krämer, Geoffrey Rockwell, Anna Strasser
There are some slots reserved for this CFP. We are looking for international contributions from computer sciences or philosophy and invite you to submit an extended abstract. We encourage joint presentations by researchers from different disciplines due to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject.
To address the issues delineated above, the following questions could serve as a starting point:
(1) Are there certain types of language games that can be modeled almost perfectly by LLMs, and are there others that resist computational modeling?
(2) What kinds of patterns in human language use, widely recognized as key features of cultural evolution, can be modeled by computations of statistical patterns?
(3) What is the relationship between patterns and rules?
(4) What role do patterns play for LLMs, and what role do they play for humans?
(5) Are there examples of successful human-human communication where understanding cannot be attributed to all participants?
(6) Given that the text production of LLMs is so radically different from that of humans, to what extent can communicative principles such as trust and reliability be applied to human-machine interaction?
The workshop is funded by the DFG, and travel & accommodation costs can be reimbursed under the usual conditions. For environmental reasons, however, we also welcome remote participation, especially concerning transatlantic flights.
- Please send an ABSTRACT with 500 to max. 1000 words as Pdf- or Word document plus a short BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE to: berlinerdenkwerkstatt@gmail.com
- Please use the following subject when submitting: Submission for LLMs in Berlin
- Deadline: 15.4.2024
Formal details and further information: https://www.denkwerkstatt.berlin/NEXT-EVENT