Group Problems II – Introduction 2022
Background research
Next Thursday’s activity will focus on the potential threats posed by the development of Artificial
Intelligence (including Superintelligence and the Singularity). As an introduction to the concept of
Superintelligence I suggest you read the Wikipedia entry on Superintelligence,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superintelligence
I also suggest that you access the website: http://AgeOfAi.org and take their survey at,
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QMT9XXG
Superintelligence may never be developed. However, some of the issues related to Superintelligence
are already pertinent. If you are in doubt, watch the embedded you-tube clip on the website:
https://www.logistiview.com/vision-pick-and-put-wall.html
Who is the intelligent entity and who is the robot?
Preparation for 2nd Hackathon
The second group “Hackathon” will explore some of the issues related to ceding control to Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and will take place on Thursday the 6thof October. The online survey I directed you to
is concerned with the development of Superintelligence. Although Superintelligence might never be
developed the current state-of-the-art in artificial intelligence is already giving rise to ethical issues. I
have suggested three topic areas, listed below, that you can explore but please feel free to explore the
topic and issues more widely yourselves. This week you should take the opportunity, as a group, to
discuss these topics and identify any research that you might need to carry out in the next week.
1. Recent progress in the development of autonomous vehicles has been very rapid. However, as
the technology matures some key ethical considerations need to be resolved. If control of the
car is given to an artificial system who should be responsible for the actions of the system and
who should decide the rules that underpin the decision-making software? In the case of an
autonomous vehicle if a collision is imminent should the car seek to minimise injury to the
passenger or share the risk of injury between the passenger and other road users and
bystanders? This is a classic example of the “Trolley Problem” with the notable difference that
this is not an abstract problem. The questions that you should explore as a group include what
principle should be used in such circumstances. This is one example of many examples that
give rise to similar issues including LAWS (lethal autonomous weapons).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem#:~:text=The%20trolley%20problem%20is
%20a,to%20save%20a%20larger%20number.&text=There%20is%20a%20runaway%20tro
lley,up%20and%20unable%20to%20move
2. The use of big data is at the heart of training some machine learning systems. Nowadays the
majority of résumés sent to corporate employers are vetted initially by algorithms. The more
advanced algorithms are self-training or can use data from previous assessments to train
themselves. However, these systems may identify patterns within the data, such as spotting
that applications with a particular postal address or from a particular background are rarely
successful. Some of these algorithms unintentionally end up reflecting the prejudice of society.
This presents a wide range of potential problems. Data-based crime prediction software is used
in some states and cities of the United States and these have been shown to generate selffulfilling prophecies. How can AI/Machin learning systems be implemented in such a way that
their output can be unbiased? This is a particular challenge in systems like neural networks
where it is difficult to explain how the algorithm arrives at its results.
3. The use of AI techniques to manipulate people can be seen as an extension of the age-old
techniques that have been used by advertisers. However, the access that modern systems have
to multiple data sources on almost every user is unprecedented. The use of AI in programs such
as Facebook, Google and Amazon to “manipulate” users is of concern. Sometimes programs
such as these produce unintended consequences.
4. GPT-3 is an example of a language model this is a relatively new. Language models fall under
the general heading of AI and are concerned with manipulating text. Please have a look at the
first link firs and then the second link will give an insight into how such models work. The ability
of GPT-3 to generate text is imperfect but already impressive. You should consider how
programs such as this will impact our lives in the near future.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUPwrYklYI8
In addition, as part of exploring the challenge of using data in a fair manner I am posing you two
challenges. Your group response to these challenges should be a maxim of one page per challenge.
The first is to develop, and agree on, a fair system for awarding points to leaving certificate students in
the event that the leaving cert exams are cancelled. This is essentially the problem that was faced by
the Department of Education in the summer of 2020. The department had access to historic data on
the past performance of students from every school and the teachers’ assessments of the pupils plus,
in most cases assess to the students’ performance in the junior certificate. You may assume that you
have access to all this detail plus any other data that you might be able to gather if you had access to
state records. In addition to describing your algorithm for allocating a points score you should specify
the underlying objective of your system and comment on how you would attempt to deal with bias.
You should also critique your system and comment on its weaknesses, if any.
The second is to develop, and agree on, a system that could be used for making decisions within any
organisation from a company, to a country. The objective is to design a fair mechanism that would
make rational, optimal, decisions. Your response should indicate the overall objectives that would
inform the decision making process and identify any potential disadvantages of your system.
You should work on your responses this week and submit it at the end of next week’s hackathon.
Best of luck,
Dermot O’Dwyer 29/09/2022