The ETHICS of machine learning/AI

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD

How do we maintain control over the

machine?

Occam’s Razor “Other things being equal,

simpler explanations are generally better

than more complex ones“

Parsimony – Computer Science – use

simple models with few rules and few

parameters; fewer lines of codeTheoretical Computer Science - you have

parsimonious reductions (counting problem of solutions for Search)

High R²

Control is easier when the machine is a 12-Year-Old It can do a repetitive simple chore very wellFor AI – simple is a robot vacuuming the house But it can learn the types of dirt and stains the vacuum picks up

For ML – simple control is data science

ExplanatoryVariables

The Machine as a 12-Year-old Parsimony and Elegance in

Machine Learning• Spark MLLib (code provided by

Apache Spark)

Occam’s RazorParsimonyElegance

Controlling a complex machineThis is where human morality, ethics and virtue come in

The ethical human is more likely to train the machine ethically

Elon MuskARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEIS OUR BIGGEST EXISTENTIAL THREAT

The Turing Test: Can a machine think?

“If the output of the machine is

indistinguishable from that of a human brain, then we

have no meaningful reason to insist that the

machine is not thinking.” The Innovators by Walter Isaacson, pg. 124

The Imitation Game: SQL vs. No SQL

• NoSQL Cluster Data Monster

• Spark• MongoDB• Kafka• Cassandra• Elasticsearch• The 4 V’s of Big Data• MLlib

• MySQL Kitty Cat• Relational and Structured

Database• Vertical scaling• MySQL• SparkSQL (“Dataframes”)• RMySQL• Various Cloud SQLs

Do you ignore certain types of data? Room A – The NoSQl Data Monster Room B – MySQL Kitty Cat Room C- The Human

Execute the “Big Data” Turing Test

IBM Watson Health usually plays nice with doctors

Instead of basically saying “I’m correct…do this”

“There is a 40% probability that you will like this recommendation.”

Take a look at what I say and check for yourself

Human – Computer HybridAugmented Intelligence

What if we just make the machine collegial?

RoboEthics: The TARS Humor Setting

“Hey TARS, bring the humor setting down to 75”

TARS Is a Bad BoyTARS: “I have plenty of slaves for my robot colony.”

TARS: “You can use it to make your way back to the ship when I blow you out of the airlock

TARS is a Good Boy - But is collegial AI the same as ethical AI?

The Ethics of The 'Singularity‘Commentary-January 23, 2015

Alva Noe

Keep it simple and elegant

Train the 12-year-old

Human is the “Hero” (ethical and virtuous training)

Is it our “biggest existential threat?”

Conclusion

Thank you! Brent M. Eastwood, PhD

@BMEastwood BrentEastwood.com

@GovBrain Washington, DC