Regardless of whether you think understanding is important, it’s clear from this thread that a lot of people find understanding valuable. In order to trust an AI with decisions that affect people, people will want to believe that the AI “understands” the implications of its decisions, for whatever meaning of “understand” those people have in their head. So indeed I think it is important that AI researchers try to get their AIs to understand things, because it is important to the consumers that they do.

I agree with this. I contend that as the AIs improve in performance, the designation of understanding will accrete to them. I predict there will never be a component, module, training process, or any other significant piece of an AI that is the ‘understanding’ piece that some believe is missing today.

Also, the widespread human belief that something is valuable has absolutely no entailments to me other than treating the believers with normal respect. It’s very easy to think of things that are important to billions that you believe are not true or relevant to a reality-driven life.