There is apparently increasingly appetite for exploring, how we might use LLMs for research on human behavior, where ...

There is apparently increasingly appetite for exploring, how we might use LLMs for research on human behavior, where we would have otherwise interacted with humans instead. Researchers in the behavioral sciences have proposed that in some cases, human participants can be replaced by AI surrogates in the form of large language models (LLMs). The cost savings are potentially enormous. One study reported that using AI surrogates for exploratory research cost a mere $2,125, compared to an estimated $375,000 had they used human participants. Why Are We Using Machines to Study Our Inner Lives?, by Julie Sedivy. This seems clearly a story of the map and territory disconnect. The AI provides a model and it does “talk back”. Of course, all models are wrong. Can this one be useful?