LLMorphism: When humans come to see themselves as language models

Computer Science > Computers and Society arXiv:2605.05419 (cs) [Submitted on 6 May 2026] Title:LLMorphism: When humans come to see themselves as language models Authors:Valerio Capraro View a PDF of the paper titled LLMorphism: When humans come to see themselves as language models, by Valerio Capraro View PDF

Abstract:LLMorphism is the biased belief that human cognition works like a large language model. I argue that the rise of conversational LLMs may make this bias increasingly psychologically available. When artificial systems produce human-like language, people may draw a reverse inference: if LLMs can speak like humans, perhaps humans think like LLMs. This inference is biased because similarity at the level of linguistic output does not imply similarity in cognitive architecture. Yet, LLMorphism may spread through two mechanisms: analogical transfer, whereby features of LLMs are projected onto humans, and metaphorical availability, whereby LLM vocabulary becomes a culturally salient vocabulary for describing thought. I distinguish LLMorphism from mechanomorphism, anthropomorphism, computationalism, dehumanization, objectification, and predictive-processing theories of mind. I outline its implications for work, education, responsibility, healthcare, communication, creativity, and human dignity, while also discussing boundary conditions and forms of resistance. I conclude that the public debate may be missing half of the problem: the issue is not only whether we are attributing too much mind to machines, but also whether we are beginning to attribute too little mind to humans.

Comments:	16 pages
Subjects:	Computers and Society (cs.CY)
Cite as:	arXiv:2605.05419 [cs.CY]
	(or arXiv:2605.05419v1 [cs.CY] for this version)
	https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.05419 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

Submission history

From: Valerio Capraro [view email]
[v1] Wed, 6 May 2026 20:27:15 UTC (226 KB)
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