Homo-Silicus: Not (Yet) a Good Imitator of Homo Sapiens or Homo Economicus

Solomon Polachek, Kenneth Romano () and Ozlem Tonguc ()
Additional contact information
Kenneth Romano: Binghamton University, New York
Ozlem Tonguc: State University of New York

No 17521, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Do large language models (LLMs)—such as ChatGPT 3.5, ChatGPT 4.0, and Google's Gemini 1.0 Pro—simulate human behavior in the context of the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game with varying stake sizes? This paper investigates this question, examining how LLMs navigate scenarios where self-interested behavior of all players results in less preferred outcomes, offering insights into how LLMs might "perceive" human decision-making. Through a replication of Yamagishi et al. (2016) "Study 2," we analyze LLM responses to different payoff stakes and the influence of stake order on cooperation rates. LLMs demonstrate sensitivity to these factors, and some LLMs mirror human behavior only under very specific circumstances, implying the need for cautious application of LLMs in behavioral research.

Keywords: Prisoner's Dilemma; cooperation; payoff stakes; artificial intelligence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C72 C90 D01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 18 pages
Date: 2024-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ain, nep-cmp, nep-exp and nep-gth
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://docs.iza.org/dp17521.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17521

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Holger Hinte ().