Adrian de Wynter Builds 1-Bit LLM in Age of Empires II to Challenge AI Consciousness Claims
Updated
Updated · 404 Media · Jun 18
Adrian de Wynter Builds 1-Bit LLM in Age of Empires II to Challenge AI Consciousness Claims
2 articles · Updated · 404 Media · Jun 18
Summary
Adrian de Wynter used Age of Empires II’s scenario editor to build a working 1-bit perceptron and NAND gate system with goats, arguing that LLM-like mechanics alone do not justify claims of consciousness.
The Microsoft AI researcher said the stunt was meant to expose how easily people anthropomorphize chatbots: when the same underlying neural-network logic appears in a game instead of a chat window, the sense of human-like intelligence largely disappears.
His paper also reviewed 315 computer-science papers from the past two years and found 57% started from the assumption that LLMs have human-like traits, which he argues can distort experiment design and conclusions.
De Wynter is not ruling out some form of machine consciousness, but says the bigger problem is treating it as a binary and letting product design, marketing and conversational interfaces drive exaggerated claims about AI minds.