In this thought-provoking conversation, Stuart Russell, a distinguished professor of computer science at UC Berkeley and co-founder of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence, discusses the complexities of artificial intelligence and its alignment with human values. He explores the need for AI to learn from human behavior rather than imposing rigid goals. Russell also addresses the existential risks of superintelligent AI, the challenges of decision-making, and the transformative potential of AI in enhancing civilization, calling for a flexible approach to programming these systems.
01:27:24
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
AI's Core Function
Artificial intelligence builds systems with human-assigned objectives.
These systems then devise ways to achieve those objectives, like maximizing rewards.
insights INSIGHT
Continuum of Intelligence
A spectrum of intelligence exists, from simple thermostats to complex humans.
The complexity arises from the environment and the objective's intricacy.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Go vs. Driving
Go has explicit rules and a finite state space, unlike driving, where rules and objectives are unclear.
Driving involves unknown human behavior and undefined 'good driving' standards.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig, is a comprehensive textbook covering various aspects of artificial intelligence. It provides a broad overview of the field, encompassing search algorithms, knowledge representation, reasoning, machine learning, and natural language processing. The book is known for its clear explanations, numerous examples, and extensive coverage of both classical and modern AI techniques. It serves as a valuable resource for students and researchers alike, offering a solid foundation in the principles and applications of AI. Its wide adoption makes it a standard reference in the field.
Transformative Experience
L. A. Paul
In 'Transformative Experience', L.A. Paul argues that certain life choices, such as deciding to become a parent, converting to a religion, or medically altering one's physical and mental capacities, are transformative experiences that cannot be assessed in advance. These experiences change the person in both epistemic and personal ways, making it impossible to make fully informed decisions based on current preferences and values. Paul uses classic philosophical examples and recent work in decision theory, cognitive science, and the philosophy of mind to develop a rigorous account of how we should understand and approach such transformative decisions.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert Pirsig
This classic novel by Robert M. Pirsig is a personal and philosophical odyssey that delves into the author's search for meaning. The narrative follows a father and his son on a summer motorcycle trip from the Midwest to California, intertwining a travelogue with deep philosophical discussions. The book explores the concept of 'quality' and how it informs a well-lived life, reconciling science, religion, and humanism. It also touches on the author's own struggles with his past and his philosophical quest, making it a touching and transcendent exploration of human experience and endeavor.
Human Compatible
Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control
Stuart J. Russell
In this book, Stuart Russell explores the concept of intelligence in humans and machines, outlining the near-term benefits and potential risks of AI. He discusses the misuse of AI, from lethal autonomous weapons to viral sabotage, and proposes a novel solution by rebuilding AI on a new foundation where machines are inherently uncertain about human preferences. This approach aims to create machines that are humble, altruistic, and committed to pursuing human objectives, ensuring they remain provably deferential and beneficial to humans.
Artificial intelligence has made great strides of late, in areas as diverse as playing Go and recognizing pictures of dogs. We still seem to be a ways away from AI that is “intelligent” in the human sense, but it might not be too long before we have to start thinking seriously about the “motivations” and “purposes” of artificial agents. Stuart Russell is a longtime expert in AI, and he takes extremely seriously the worry that these motivations and purposes may be dramatically at odds with our own. In his book Human Compatible, Russell suggests that the secret is to give up on building our own goals into computers, and rather programming them to figure out our goals by actually observing how humans behave.
Stuart Russell received his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University. He is currently a Professor of Computer Science and the Smith-Zadeh Professor in Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as an Honorary Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. He is a co-founder of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at UC Berkeley. He is the author of several books, including (with Peter Norvig) the classic text Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach. Among his numerous awards are the IJCAI Computers and Thought Award, the Blaise Pascal Chair in Paris, and the World Technology Award. His new book is Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control.
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 
