What Does ChatGPT Say: The DAO from Algorithmic Intelligence to Linguistic Intelligence

Abstract

The well-known ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (老子) or Laozi (6th∼4th century BC during the Spring and Autumn period) started his classic Tao Teh Ching 《道德经》 or Dao De Jing (see Fig. 1) with six Chinese characters: “道(Dao)可(Ke)道(Dao)非(Fei)常(Chang)道(Dao)”, which has been traditionally interpreted as “道可道,非常道” or “The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao”. However, mordern archaeological discoveries in 1973 and 1993 at Changsha, Hunan, and Jingmen, Hubei, China, have respectively indicated a new, yet more natural and simple interpretation: “道,可道,非常道”, or “The Dao, The Speakable Dao, The Eternal Dao”.