Large language models are not committed to a single answer when playing the 20 questions game; rather, all possible answers consistent with previous responses exist in superposition until the model is forced to collapse that distribution by being asked directly what the answer is, which fundamentally differs from how human consciousness works where we have already committed to an object in mind.

factualpending

Speaker

Murray Shanahan

Evidence Quote

It's absolutely inherent in the way large language models are are are built that it's not going to commit at the beginning of the conversation to to exactly what the object uh is.

Source

Human vs. Machine Consciousness | Imperial’s Murray ShanahanJohnathan Bi
Created: 8/11/2026, 6:51:36 AM

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