Are Language Models Models?
Abstract
Futrell and Mahowald claim LMs "serve as model systems", but an assessment at each of Marr's three levels suggests the claim is clearly not true at the implementation level, poorly motivated at the algorithmic-representational level, and problematic at the computational theory level. LMs are good candidates as tools; calling them cognitive models overstates the case and unnecessarily feeds LLM hype.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Philosophy and Theoretical Science
Cybernetics and Technology in Society
Natural Language Processing Techniques
Publication details
- Journal / source
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Publication date
- 15 January 2026
- Document type
- Preprint