mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

Chatting with Bots: AI, Speech Acts, and the Edge of Assertion

arXiv 2410.16645 ↗First posted 22 Oct 2024cs.CL cs.AIcited by 2

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Abstract (arXiv)

This paper addresses the question of whether large language model-powered chatbots are capable of assertion. According to what we call the Thesis of Chatbot Assertion (TCA), chatbots are the kinds of things that can assert, and at least some of the output produced by current-generation chatbots qualifies as assertion. We provide some motivation for TCA, arguing that it ought to be taken seriously and not simply dismissed. We also review recent objections to TCA, arguing that these objections are weighty. We thus confront the following dilemma: how can we do justice to both the considerations for and against TCA? We consider two influential responses to this dilemma - the first appeals to the notion of proxy-assertion; the second appeals to fictionalism - and argue that neither is satisfactory. Instead, reflecting on the ontogenesis of assertion, we argue that we need to make space for a category of proto-assertion. We then apply the category of proto-assertion to chatbots, arguing that treating chatbots as proto-assertors provides a satisfactory resolution to the dilemma of chatbot assertion.

Key facts. Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 22 of its 79 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 22 Oct 2024.

Builds on

22 of 79 references.

References · 22

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  1. 2023Clever Hans or Neural Theory of Mind? Stress Testing Social Reasoning in Large Language Modelscited by 161
  2. 2022The Debate Over Understanding in AI's Large Language Modelscited by 142
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Cited by year

Citing papers per year: 2025: 2.

2 papers.

  1. 2025Mechanistic Interpretability Needs Philosophycited by 6
  2. 2025Pragmatics beyond humans: meaning, communication, and LLMscited by 0