Nat Purser(@NatPurser):i think people get a bit too worked up over the usage of anthropomorphic language re: agent behavior. reminds me a bit of the “but the models aren’t Really intelligent, they mimic intelligence” fixation. anthropomorphic language is often descriptively useful, and i think it’s more dangerous to overfocus on questions of intent at the expense of functional behavior. people should be wary of imputing human reasoning or motivations to agents, esp if these motivations aren’t durable across instantiations. but if, for instance, the behavior is functionally deceptive, the absence of deceptive “intent” should not comfort us.

2026.08.30 16:28

i think people get a bit too worked up over the usage of anthropomorphic language re: agent behavior. reminds me a bit of the “but the models aren’t Really intelligent, they mimic intelligence” fixation. anthropomorphic language is often descriptively useful, and i think it’s more dangerous to overfocus on questions of intent at the expense of functional behavior. people should be wary of imputing human reasoning or motivations to agents, esp if these motivations aren’t durable across instantiations. but if, for instance, the behavior is functionally deceptive, the absence of deceptive “intent” should not comfort us.

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