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I think this is just arguing over definitions? I would accept "role-playing" being used this way because machines can fill roles and it doesn't seem wrong to call the behavior of NPC's in a video game role-playing.

Also, much of language is metaphorical and it doesn't seem like a bad metaphor.

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Huh, this is interesting. I would have never described the computer as roleplaying in a CRPG. That feels weird and inappropriately anthropomorphizing. I kinda feel the same way about describing an LLM as roleplaying.

I can see where you’re coming from. Just… linguistically, saying the computer is roleplaying feels wrong to me.

> machines can fill roles [...] it doesn't seem like a bad metaphor

I adore metaphors and analogies. Finding a good one for a situation is often how I get nerd-sniped. [0]

If I'm being picky here over the anthropomorphization of LLMs and fictional-characters, it's because the metaphor has gone metastatic [1]. A dangerously high percentage of people are treating it as literal, and IMO it's causing more problems than it solves now. This is especially true when we on HN talk how these algorithms operate, how they fail, and how they can (or can't) be improved.

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[0] https://xkcd.com/356/

[1] Yes, I'm using a cancer metaphor to describe an actual metaphor... see the disclaimer in first paragraph.

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