Submission Date

7-24-2026

Document Type

Paper

Department

Philosophy

Faculty Mentor

Molly O'Rourke-Friel

Comments

Presented during the 28th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 24, 2026 at Ursinus College.

Project Description

As Large Language Models and AI chatbots become increasingly prevalent, pressing questions are raised about whether beliefs formed through LLM interactions carry the same epistemic weight as beliefs formed through human testimony. How we answer this question depends on whether LLMs can function as testifiers, a role which is typically assumed to require a human or human-like agent. This assumption has gone largely unexamined, yet its consequences are significant: if LLM outputs cannot constitute testimony, then the justificatory tools of testimonial epistemology are unavailable to any beliefs formed through LLM interaction. This paper challenges that assumption. It first argues that definition of testimony is essential regardless of any position on testimonial justification, as reductionists and non-reductionists alike should advocate for a principled account of what testimony is. It then surveys potential models of testimony and challenges the anthropocentric and biocentric assumptions embedded in them as theoretically unnecessary, as these assumptions reflect intuitive bias as opposed to any structural feature that testimony requires. Finally, the paper assesses whether LLMs satisfy the conditions to be considered a testifier and determines the implications of the conclusion.

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