Beyond the limitations of any imaginable mechanism: Large language models and psycholinguistics

Behav Brain Sci. 2023 Dec 6:46:e395. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X23001693.

Abstract

Large language models (LLMs) are not detailed models of human linguistic processing. They are, however, extremely successful at their primary task: Providing a model for language. For this reason LLMs are important in psycholinguistics: They are useful as a practical tool, as an illustrative comparative, and philosophically, as a basis for recasting the relationship between language and thought.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Language*
  • Linguistics
  • Psycholinguistics*