AI vs Human Performance Benchmarking | 15min snip from "The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis

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Can AIs do AI R&D? Reviewing REBench Results with Neev Parikh of METR

"The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis

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CHAPTER

AI vs Human Performance Benchmarking

This chapter explores the accessibility and execution of AI tasks without the need for GPUs, particularly suitable for laptop use. It discusses the comparative performance of humans and AI agents in research tasks, focusing on time budgets and statistical methodologies used for evaluation. The conversation highlights the complexities of comparing AI and human capabilities, emphasizing resource constraints and the impact of methods like 'best of K' in optimizing performance.

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In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan explores METR's groundbreaking REBench evaluation framework with Neev Parikh. We dive deep into how this new benchmark assesses AI systems' ability to perform real machine learning research tasks, from optimizing GPU kernels to fine-tuning language models. Join us for a fascinating discussion about the current capabilities of AI models like Claude 3.5 and GPT-4, and what their performance tells us about the trajectory of artificial intelligence development.

Check out METR's work:

blog post: https://metr.org/blog/2024-11-22-evaluating-r-d-capabilities-of-llms/

paper: https://metr.org/AI_R_D_Evaluation_Report.pdf

jobs: https://hiring.metr.org/

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CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) Teaser

(00:01:04) About the Episode

(00:05:14) Introducing METR

(00:07:36) Specialization of AI Risk

(00:09:52) AI R&D vs. Autonomy

(00:12:41) Benchmark Design Choices

(00:16:04) Benchmark Design Principles (Part 1)

(00:18:54) Sponsors: GiveWell | SelectQuote

(00:21:44) Benchmark Design Principles (Part 2)

(00:22:35) AI vs. Human Evaluation

(00:26:55) Optimizing Runtimes