Thehumanproject.ai — LessWrong

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The AI's Toolbox: From Soggy Toast to Optimal Solutions

8mo

In a limited array of tools, there is one optimal tool to use.

For this example, let’s take the task of hammering a nail into a wall, and the only two tools available to us are a soggy piece of toast and a silver spoon. For the given task, the spoon will be slightly more useful than the moist piece of a baked good.

Let’s expand this to include a wider range of tools that are at our disposal. We now have a whole toolbox akin to one you’d find in the average US homeowner's garage. To fulfil the task of hammering a nail into a wall, you’d most likely grab a hammer. It... (read 2113 more words →)

Personal Ruminations on AI's Missing Variable Problem

Thehumanproject.ai

9mo

My thinking differs somewhat from that of others. My worrying is more about potential outcome scenarios and their respective likelihoods, akin to a predictive modeling AI. I often find myself wrestling with potentialities that cannot be definitively proven unless the path is pursued. At times, I get lost in abstractions and distracted by related or unrelated side thoughts, which can be quite burdensome. The workplace routine, for instance, can lead me to get stuck in these ruminating thoughts.

This thought process could, for example, manifest when considering the benefit/trade-off of having lunch with my colleagues:

How easy is it to join the lunch group with them?
What are the potential benefits I'd gain from socialising

... (read 736 more words →)

Text First, Evidence Later? Managing Quality and Trust in an Era of AI-Augmented Research

Thehumanproject.ai

10mo

It's hardly a secret anymore that researchers across disciplines are increasingly turning to Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. Initially adopted perhaps for polishing prose or overcoming writer's block, their use has rapidly evolved. We now see LLMs employed not just for superficial text enhancement, but for brainstorming, structuring arguments, summarizing complex papers, and even generating draft sections. This integration marks a significant shift in the academic workflow, presenting both possibilities for efficiency and profound challenges to the integrity of the research process itself. The implications are far-reaching, forcing those of us working in academia and research to confront uncomfortable questions about authorship, oversight, and the very nature of scholarly contribution in... (read 1335 more words →)

Ambiguities or the issues we face with AI in medicine

Thehumanproject.ai

Abstract

With AI gradually becoming more relevant to healthcare, we are running into a diverse set of issues related to ambiguous medical data, expert disagreement, and biased outcomes. For AI to make accurate medical predictions, significant improvements in data collection, standardization, and ethical oversight are necessary, which come with their own set of additional challenges. In this thought piece I will lay out the issue of what ambiguities are, how they get to be and why they are so problematic in the medical AI context.

Preface

This is one text of a collection of essays and thought pieces that lies at the intersection of AI and other topics.

I’d highly appreciate to receive ideas, feedback and... (read 1383 more words →)

Patterns or getting to Objective Truth – A thought piece on Artificial Intelligence

Thehumanproject.ai

Abstract

AI can create patterns taking into consideration all sorts of information, but how do we ensure it learns the right underlying patterns of the world to generate output that is as accurate as possible and isn't influenced by biases? This thought piece explores the complex nature of truth in human and AI contexts.

Preface

This is one text of a collection of essays and thought pieces that lies at the intersection of AI and other topics.

I’d highly appreciate to receive ideas, feedback and opinions, as well as engage in meaningful discussions about the topics I cover in this collection of essays, which I seek to publish over the course of the next weeks and... (read 2147 more words →)

Patterns or getting to Objective Truth – A thought piece on Artificial Intelligence

Thehumanproject.ai

Summary

The concept of pattern recognition is deeply ingrained in nature and human biology, allowing us to identify correlations between environmental cues and take mental shortcuts. However, these patterns can also lead to maladaptations when our environment changes, as seen in humans' tendency towards sweet and fatty foods despite modern nutritional risks. This raises questions about the limitations of human thinking and the potential for AI systems to overcome them by recognizing patterns that don't make sense to us on a conscious level. But if we cannot fully understand how patterns arise in human thinking, can we truly verify if an AI's learned pattern is correct? This thought piece explores these concerns through... (read 2229 more words →)