The dangerous illusion that AI understands, thinks and cares

Anthropomorphising artificial intelligence – that is, treating AI systems as though they possess human emotions, intentions, consciousness or moral judgment – is both an ethical and a practical problem. While attributing human qualities to AI systems may make interactions more approachable, it also risks clouding users’ perceptions of the technology’s true nature and limitations. The so-called hallucinations that generative AI systems produce are nothing more than errors...