LLMs as a platform for studying constraint interaction: Motivation and challenges

Abstract

Large Language Models (LLMs) can serve as tools for understanding how probabilistic constraints interact during language acquisition. To motivate such use cases of LLMs, we discuss several examples from allied fields, including neurobiology and animal behavior, of how soft constraints shape learning and development in cognitive systems. We end by outlining four challenges that LLM cognitive modeling should address in the coming decade.