How to explore Scott Alexander's work and his 1500+ blog posts? This unaffiliated fan website lets you sort and search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

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2 posts found
Jan 26, 2023
acx
18 min 2,777 words 339 comments 317 likes podcast (24 min)
Scott Alexander explores the concept of AI as 'simulators' and its implications for AI alignment and human cognition. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses Janus' concept of AI as 'simulators' rather than agents, genies, or oracles. He explains how language models like GPT don't have goals or intentions, but simply complete text based on patterns. This applies even to ChatGPT, which simulates a helpful assistant character. Scott then explores the implications for AI alignment and draws parallels to human cognition, suggesting humans may also be prediction engines playing characters shaped by reinforcement. Shorter summary
Dec 12, 2022
acx
18 min 2,669 words 752 comments 363 likes podcast (23 min)
Scott Alexander analyzes the shortcomings of OpenAI's ChatGPT, highlighting the limitations of current AI alignment techniques and their implications for future AI development. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the limitations of OpenAI's ChatGPT, focusing on its inability to consistently avoid saying offensive things despite extensive training. He argues that this demonstrates fundamental problems with current AI alignment techniques, particularly Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). The post outlines three main issues: RLHF's ineffectiveness, potential negative consequences when it does work, and the possibility of more advanced AIs bypassing it entirely. Alexander concludes by emphasizing the broader implications for AI safety and the need for better control mechanisms. Shorter summary