Beyond Stochastic Parrots
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2025-06-16
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en
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In this thesis we explore whether LLMs can exhibit scientific creativity. To address this question, we first provide a thorough overview of the philosophical literature about the definition of creativity. We argue for a definition of creativity that distinguishes between product and producer. A product is called creative if it is novel, valuable and surprising and a producer is creative if it produces creative products with flair. We then focus on LLMs, which are often argued to be mere stochastic parrots, which are fundamentally incapable of creativity. We review the experimental literature on LLMs and find that, while exhibiting some parrot-like tendencies, they can produce creative scientific products and demonstrate a limited but real capacity for scientific creativity.
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Faculteit der Filosofie, Theologie en Religiewetenschappen