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  • The Alignment Problem

  • Machine Learning and Human Values
  • By: Brian Christian
  • Narrated by: Brian Christian
  • Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (27 ratings)

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The Alignment Problem

By: Brian Christian
Narrated by: Brian Christian
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Publisher's Summary

A jaw-dropping exploration of everything that goes wrong when we build AI systems and the movement to fix them.

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. But alarm bells are ringing. Recent years have seen an eruption of concern as the field of machine learning advances. 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. Researchers call this the alignment problem.

Systems cull résumés until, years later, we discover that they have inherent gender biases. Algorithms decide bail and parole - and appear to assess Black and White defendants differently. We can no longer assume that our mortgage application, or even our medical tests, will be seen by human eyes. And as autonomous vehicles share our streets, we are increasingly putting our lives in their hands.

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.

In best-selling author Brian Christian’s riveting account, we meet the alignment problem’s “first-responders,” and learn their ambitious plan to solve it before our hands are completely off the wheel. In a masterful blend of history and on-the-ground reporting, Christian traces the explosive growth in the field of machine learning and surveys its current, sprawling frontier. Listeners encounter a discipline finding its legs amid exhilarating and sometimes terrifying progress. Whether they - and we - succeed or fail in solving the alignment problem will be a defining human story.

The Alignment Problem offers an unflinching reckoning with humanity’s biases and blind spots, our own unstated assumptions and often contradictory goals. A dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, it takes a hard look not only at our technology but at our culture - and finds a story by turns harrowing and hopeful. 

©2020 Brian Christian (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

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excellent primer on AI Safety

As someone working in public policy I really wanted some guidance on the concept of AI Safety and this book proved a great choice. Some of the concepts I found hard going to understand as a listener and may have been easier to understand on the page. That said, Christian writes wonderfully and also speaks well. One worrying concern I picked up was of the dozens and dozens of scientists referenced, only two or three appear to be women. This issue is too important not to have a diversity of perspectives applied.

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