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If AI Is Sentient Then So Is ‘Age of Empires II’, Researcher Says
Posted
June 18, 2026
Views
1,955
Likes
199
Comments
21
Engagement
11.25%
June 18, 2026
1,955
199
21
11.25%
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1:16Now Playing“If LLMs Have Human-Like Attributes, Then So Does Age of Empires II,” is the title of Adrian de Wynter’s paper showing his work. He told 404 Media that absurdity can be a powerful tool. “I have this tendency to dial up things to 11 when I really think I need to make a point,” he said. “I should also note that absurdism is pretty standard in philosophy and theoretical computer science.”
And so De Wynter built an LLM within AoEII using goats. “The point of the paper is to formally show that we anthropomorphise too readily, and that sometimes the claims we make with regards to LLM capabilities are too strong,” he told 404 Media. “It's not an easy task, given that ‘human-like attributes’ is a bit of an abstract term.”
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