Are language models models?

Abstract

Futrell and Mahowald claim language models (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 large language model hype.