Kenneth Stanley, an AI researcher and author of "Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned," discusses the pitfalls of setting specific goals in innovation. He argues that objective measures can mislead discovery and creativity, advocating for open-ended exploration instead. Stanley explores how these ideas connect to education, Darwinian evolution, and scientific inquiry. He highlights the concept of 'novelty search' in AI research, suggesting that meaningful discoveries often come from unexpected paths rather than rigid objectives.
Setting overly ambitious goals can mislead innovation, highlighting the need for flexible approaches rather than rigid objectives in creative fields.
The serendipitous nature of exploration in programs like Pickbreeder illustrates how unexpected outcomes can enhance creativity in art and discovery.
Evaluating teachers based on portfolio assessments over standardized tests promotes a culture of exploration that aligns education with dynamic creativity.
Deep dives
The Impact of Ambitious Goals
Setting overly ambitious goals can be detrimental to innovation and discovery, as suggested by Kenneth Stanley. While having measurable objectives can help in achieving short-term tasks, aiming for a distant ambitious goal can mislead and create a false sense of direction. This concept highlights the importance of understanding the limitations of objectives, particularly in creative and exploratory fields. The emphasis is on viewing objectives as toolkits rather than ultimate ends, encouraging a flexible approach to achievement.
Serendipity and Creative Process
Serendipity plays a crucial role in creativity, as demonstrated by the development of Pickbreeder, a genetic art program. Users of Pickbreeder engaged in a collaborative process of evolving images, ultimately leading to unexpected and diverse outcomes. Rather than pursuing specific targets, the program allowed users to discover intriguing results organically, showcasing that novelty can lead to creativity. This serendipitous nature of exploration is essential for understanding the broader implications of creativity in art and innovation.
The Myth of Objective Functions
Stanley challenges the reliance on objective functions in AI, arguing that they often limit the potential for broad, open-ended discovery. Using the example of the Pickbreeder program, he explains that setting specific objectives can hinder the search for creative solutions. When trying to specialize outcomes based on defined objectives, valuable stepping stones can be overlooked or rendered inaccessible. By adopting a more flexible approach that emphasizes novelty over strict objectives, exploration yields richer and more diverse creative results.
Creative Searches and Education
The principles of non-objective searches extend into educational frameworks, where rigid standards can stifle creativity. Kenneth Stanley advocates for evaluating teachers based on portfolio assessments rather than standardized test scores, allowing for a focus on interesting teaching methods. This approach promotes a culture of exploration where teachers can experiment with different philosophies and methodologies. By fostering a learning environment centered on curiosity and discovery, education can align more closely with the dynamic process of creativity.
Reforming AI Research Methodologies
Stanley and Lehman propose a reform in AI research methodologies by emphasizing interestingness over mere performance metrics or theoretical guarantees. Current AI research often prioritizes publishing algorithms that excel in narrow objectives, potentially sidelining innovative approaches that may not yet show clear results. By shifting the focus to what makes theories interesting, the research community can encourage a broader exploration of ideas and algorithms. This alteration in assessment criteria could ultimately lead to more groundbreaking discoveries in the field of artificial intelligence.
Here Bruce reflects on AI researcher Kenneth Stanley’s assertion that setting specific, measurable goals may actually hinder discovery and innovation, which he writes about in his book, Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective. How does Stanley’s insight relate to critical rationalism, education, and life in general?
We cover topics including:
Why are objective sometimes misleading?
When are objectives appropriate and when are they misleading?
How did Stanley and his team discover the problems with objectives?
