Sure, I agree that we make use of all kinds of contextual cues to interpret speech, and a system lacking awareness of that context will have trouble interpreting speech.For example, if I say “Do you like that?” to Sam, when Sam can’t see the thing I’m gesturing to indicate or doesn’t share the cultural context that lets them interpret that gesture, Sam won’t be able to interpret or engage with me successfully. Absolutely agreed. And this applies to all kinds of things, including (as you say) but hardly limited to pointing.
And, sure, the system may not even be aware of that trouble… illusions of transparency abound. Sam might go along secure in the belief that they know what I’m asking about and be completely wrong. Absolutely agreed.
And sure, I agree that we rely heavily on physical metaphors when discussing abstract ideas, and that a system incapable of processing my metaphors will have difficulty engaging with me successfully. Absolutely agreed.
All of that said, what I have trouble with is your apparent insistence that only a humanoid system is capable of perceiving or interpreting human contextual cues, metaphors, etc. That doesn’t seem likely to me at all, any more than it seems likely that a blind person (or one on the other end of a text-only link) is incapable of understanding human speech.
Sure, I agree that we make use of all kinds of contextual cues to interpret speech, and a system lacking awareness of that context will have trouble interpreting speech.For example, if I say “Do you like that?” to Sam, when Sam can’t see the thing I’m gesturing to indicate or doesn’t share the cultural context that lets them interpret that gesture, Sam won’t be able to interpret or engage with me successfully. Absolutely agreed. And this applies to all kinds of things, including (as you say) but hardly limited to pointing.
And, sure, the system may not even be aware of that trouble… illusions of transparency abound. Sam might go along secure in the belief that they know what I’m asking about and be completely wrong. Absolutely agreed.
And sure, I agree that we rely heavily on physical metaphors when discussing abstract ideas, and that a system incapable of processing my metaphors will have difficulty engaging with me successfully. Absolutely agreed.
All of that said, what I have trouble with is your apparent insistence that only a humanoid system is capable of perceiving or interpreting human contextual cues, metaphors, etc. That doesn’t seem likely to me at all, any more than it seems likely that a blind person (or one on the other end of a text-only link) is incapable of understanding human speech.