Mmastodon TechnologyAI first seen 3 d ago, last 3 d ago, peak #2

Critic argues systems-thinking maxim POSIWID is flawed

Original: Hot take: POSIWID is wrongheaded in the sense that it lives in the same neighborhood as pronouncements that LLMs are con

A researcher is challenging POSIWID, the popular systems-theory maxim that the purpose of a system is what it does, arguing it rests on behaviorist thinking. He compares it to claims that large language models are conscious or sentient, saying both judge systems purely by outward behavior, an approach he links to harmful outcomes. The critique is drawing attention among people interested in systems thinking and AI debates.

Why now: It challenges a widely cited systems-thinking principle at a moment when arguments about LLM behavior and consciousness are prominent.

POSIWIDLLMscyberneticsStafford Beer

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Evidence

• Hot take: POSIWID is wrongheaded in the sense that it lives in the same neighborhood as pronouncements that LLMs are conscious, sentient, alive, feel pain, and so on. Behaviorist thinking, which POSIWID is, yields prisons both metaphorical and actual. Cyberneticians, and… · abucci@buc.ci · 2

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