the alignment problem by brian christian

The mathematical and computational models driving these changes range in complexity from something that can fit on a spreadsheet to a complex system that might credibly be called “artificial intelligence.” They are steadily replacing both human judgment and explicitly programmed software. And as autonomous vehicles share our streets, we are increasingly putting our lives in their hands. We can no longer assume that our mortgage application, or even our medical tests, will be seen by human eyes. Algorithms decide bail and parole-and appear to assess Black and White defendants differently. Systems cull résumés until, years later, we discover that they have inherent gender biases. Researchers call this the alignment problem. When the systems we attempt to teach will not, in the end, do what we want or what we expect, ethical and potentially existential risks emerge. Recent years have seen an eruption of concern as the field of machine learning advances.

Today’s “machine-learning” systems, trained by data, are so effective that we’ve invited them to see and hear for us-and to make decisions on our behalf. He lives in San Francisco.A jaw-dropping exploration of everything that goes wrong when we build AI systems and the movement to fix them. He was recently named a Laureate of the San Francisco Public Library, and his writing has won several awards, including fellowships at Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony, publication in Best American Science & Nature Writing, and an award from the Academy of American Poets.Ĭhristian holds degrees in computer science, philosophy, and poetry from Brown University and the University of Washington. Christian has been featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Radiolab, and The Charlie Rose Show, and has lectured at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, the Santa Fe Institute, and the London School of Economics. His third book, The Alignment Problem, is forthcoming in October of 2020.Ĭhristian's writing has been translated into nineteen languages, and has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Paris Review, and in scientific journals such as Cognitive Science. He is the author, with Tom Griffiths, of Algorithms to Live By, a #1 Audible bestseller, Amazon best science book of the year and MIT Technology Review best book of the year. Brian Christian is the author of The Most Human Human, which was named a Wall Street Journal bestseller, a New York Times Editors' Choice, and a New Yorker favorite book of the year.

The alignment problem by brian christian