Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

LLMs differ from human cognition because they are not embodied

  • Comment
  • Published:

From Nature Human Behaviour

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Large language models (LLMs) are impressive technological creations but they cannot replace all scientific theories of cognition. A science of cognition must focus on humans as embodied, social animals who are embedded in material, cultural and technological contexts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Dreyfus, H. What Computers Can’t Do (Harper and Row, 1972).

  2. Lanier, J. There is no A.I. The New Yorker (20 April 2023).

  3. Ayers, J. W. et al. JAMA Intern. Med. 183, 589–596 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Birhane, A. et al. The values encoded in machine learning research. In Proc. 2022 ACM Conf. on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, 173–184 (ACM, 2022).

  5. Hart, B. & Risley, T. R. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children (Paul H. Brookes Publishing, 1995).

  6. Varela, F., Thompson, E. & Rosch, E. The Embodied Mind (The MIT Press, 1991).

  7. Di Paolo, E. A., Cuffari, E. C. & De Jaegher, H. Linguistic Bodies: The Continuity Between Life and Language (MIT Press, 2018).

  8. Dingemanse, M. et al. Cogn. Sci. 47, e13230 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Cecutti, L. et al. Nat. Hum. Behav. 5, 973–975 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Adams, Z. & Browning, J. eds. Giving a Damn: Essays in Dialogue with John Haugeland (The MIT Press, 2016).

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Z. Biener, A. Chemero and E. Feiten for comments on an earlier draft. Work on this Comment was supported by the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Anthony Chemero

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Anthony Chemero

Authors
  1. Anthony Chemero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anthony Chemero.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Human Behaviour thanks Mark Dingemanse, Ishita Dasgupta, and Julian Kiverstein for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chemero, A. LLMs differ from human cognition because they are not embodied. Nat Hum Behav 7, 1828–1829 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01723-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01723-5

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation