AccScience Publishing / BIJP / Volume 15 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.29228/beytulhikme.73949
Cite this article
5
Views
Related Info Links
More by Authors Links
Journal Browser
Volume | Year
Issue
Search
News and Announcements
View All
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Do Artificial Neural Network-Based Language Models Fulfill the Foundational Requirements of General Intelligence?

HASAN ÇAĞATAY1
Show Less
1 Ankara Sosyal Bilimler Üniversitesi, Sosyal ve Beşeri Bilimler Fakültesi, Felsefe Bölümü 06050, Ankara, Türkiye
BIJP 2025, 15(2), 589–609; https://doi.org/10.29228/beytulhikme.73949
Received: 3 November 2024 | Published online: 30 June 2025
© 2025 by the Authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

Today's large-scale language models are based on artificial neural networks. Since 2020, large language models like the GPT series have captured the attention of academia, business, and the public, focusing their interest on neural network-based natural language processing technologies. While machine learning researchers hold diverse views on the GPT series’ success in natural language processing and its significance regarding artificial general intelligence, there is consensus that its language processing capabilities have exceeded expectations. This study examines whether artificial neural networks can achieve general intelligence. It evaluates whether some fundamental cognitive skills necessary for general intelligence can be simulated by current artificial neural networks. To address this, the paper discusses how artificial neural networks operate through statistical processes and explores the relationship between these processes and key components of general intelligence and understanding.

Keywords
Artificial Neural Networks
Artificial General Intelligence
Natural Language Processing
Artificial Understanding
Functionalism.
References
  1. Allen, N. J. & Eroglu, C. (2017). Cell Biology of Astrocyte-Synapse Interactions. Neuron, 96(3), 697-708.
  2. Bechara, A., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. R. (2000). Emotion, decision making and the orbitofrontal cortex. Cerebral cortex10(3), 295–307.
  3. Bender, E. M. & Koller, A. (2020). Climbing towards NLU: On Meaning, Form, and Understanding in the Age of Data. İçinde Proceedings of the 58th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics, (ss. 5185-5198). Association for Computational Linguistics.
  4. Binet, A., & Simon, T. (1973). The Development of Intelligence in Children. Arno Press.
  5. Chalmers, D. J. (2010). The Singularity: A Philosophical Analysis. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 17(9-10), 7-65.
  6. Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. Avon Books.
  7. Fields, R. D., Woo, D. H., & Basser, P. J. (2015). Glial Regulation of the Neuronal Connectome through Local and Long-Distant Communication. Neuron, 86(2), 374-386.
  8. Friedman, M. (1974). Explanation and Scientific Understanding. The Journal of Philosophy, 71(1), 5–19.
  9. Gettier, E. L. (1963). Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?. Analysis, 23(6), 121-123.
  10. Good, I. J. (1966). Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine. İçinde F. Leopard Alt & M. Rubinoff (Eds.), Advances in Computers. (6. Cilt; ss. 31-88). Academic Press Inc.
  11. Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Mainstream science on intelligence: An editorial with 52 signatories, history and bibliography. Intelligence, 24(1), 13–23.
  12. Gottfredson, L. S. (1998). The general intelligence factor. Scientific American Presents, 9, 24–29.
  13. Kaku, M. (1999). Visions : How Science Will Revolutionize the Twenty-first Century. Oxford University Press.
  14. Kim, J. (1994). Explanatory Knowledge and Metaphysical Dependence. Philosophical Issues, 5, 51–69.
  15. Kitcher, P. (1981). Explanatory Unification. Philosophy of Science, 48(4), 507–531.
  16. Kurzweil, R. (2005). The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. The Viking Press.
  17. Kvanvig, J. L. (2003). The Value of Knowledge and the Pursuit of Understanding. Cambridge University Press.
  18. Lear, J. (1988). Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. Cambridge University Press, 1988.
  19. Legg, S., & Hutter, M. (2006). A Formal Measure of Machine Intelligence. ArXiv, abs/cs/0605024.
  20. Ma, W., Wu, D., Sun, Y., Wang, T., Liu, S., Zhang, J., Xue, Y. & Liu, Y. (2025). Combining Fine-Tuning and LLM-based Agents for Intuitive Smart Contract Auditing with Justifications. İçinde 2025 IEEE/ACM 47th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), (ss. 1742-1754), IEEE.
  21. Mitchell, M. (2019). Artificial Intelligence Hits the Barrier of Meaning. Information10(2), 51.
  22. Moore, G. E. (1965). Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits. IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society Newsletter, 11(3), 82-85.
  23. Nahmias, E., Allen, C. H., & Loveall, B. (2020). When do robots have free will? Exploring the relationships between (attributions of) consciousness and free will. İçinde B. Feltz, M. Missal, & A. Sims (Eds.), Free will, causality, and neuroscience (pp. 57–80). Brill Rodopi.
  24. Neisser, U., Boodoo, G., Bouchard, T. J., Jr., Boykin, A. W., Brody, N., Ceci, S. J., Halpern, D. F., Loehlin, J. C., Perloff, R., Sternberg, R. J., & Urbina, S. (1996). Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. American Psychologist, 51(2), 77–101.
  25. Pepperell R. (2022). Does Machine Understanding Require Consciousness?. Frontiers in systems neuroscience16, 1-13.
  26. Price, R. B., & Duman, R. (2020). Neuroplasticity in cognitive and psychological mechanisms of depression: an integrative model. Molecular psychiatry25(3), 530–543.
  27. Pritchard, D. (2009). Knowledge, Understanding and Epistemic Value. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement64, 19–43.
  28. Searle, J. R. (1980). Minds, brains, and programs. Behavioral and Brain Sciences3(3), 417–424.
  29. Vinge, V. (2003, Ocak). Technological Singularity. http://www8.cs.umu.se/kurser/5DV084/HT10/utdelat/vinge.pdf (erişildi: Ekim 12, 2019).
  30. Zagzebski, L. (2019). Toward a Theory of Understanding. İçinde S. R. Grimm (Ed.), Varieties of Understanding: New Perspectives from Philosophy, Psychology and Theology (ss. 123-136). Oxford University Press.
Share
Back to top
Beytulhikme An International Journal of Philosophy, Print ISSN: 1303-8303, Published by AccScience Publishing