Stuck in the Turing Matrix: Inauthenticity, Deception and the Social Life of AI

TL;DR

This paper explores how people navigate authenticity and deception in AI through social media discussions, revealing insights into human perceptions and the social implications of AI in everyday life.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of a Turing Matrix to analyze social attitudes towards AI and examines Reddit data to understand human-AI interactions and perceptions.

Findings

Reddit discussions reveal complex attitudes towards AI authenticity and deception.

People negotiate their perceptions of AI within a spectrum of social positions.

The Turing Matrix helps understand human responses to AI in social contexts.

Abstract

The Turing test may or may not be a valid test of machine intelligence. But in an age of generative AI, the test describes the positions we humans occupy. Judging whether or not something is human or machine produced is an everyday condition for many of us, one that involves taking a spectrum of positions along what the essay describes as a Turing Matrix combining questions of authenticity with questions of deception. Utilizing data from Reddit postings about AI in broad areas of social life, the essay examines positions taken in a Turing Matrix and describes complex negotiations taken by Reddit posters as they strive to make sense of the AI World in which they live. Even though the Turing Test may not tell us much about the achievement of AGI or other benchmarks, it can tell us a great deal about the limitations of human life in the Matrix.