Unit 06: AI in Society

Table of Contents

• Kickoff
• Blurry JPEG
• Ethical Issues in AI
• Paperclip Game
• AI Red Teaming
• Positive AI Discussion

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Table of Contents (deprecated lessons)

• Trolley Problem
• Her 1
• Her 2
• Her Discussion
• Research Paper

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AI in Society Kick off

Announcements

• None

Homework

• Read ChatGPT is a Blurry JPEG of the Web and prepare for discussion
• Annotations will be checked

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• What are the fundamental units of writing good programs?
• What is the proper role of AI in society?

Agenda:

• Review (15m)
• Named That Tuple! (15m)
• AI in Society (20m)

Review

Review

Review

Review

Tuples and Memory Worksheet

Name that Tuple: Design Edition

• Think of 3 NamedTuples and their properties you’d need to create a program representing a parking garage.

AI in Society

AI in Society

• How important is originality in society?
• ChatGPT is a Blurry JPEG of the Web
• What are the consequences of relinquishing decision making to AI?
• P-Doom
• The Trial
• Utopia
• What is the economic role of data in the production of AI?
• Hacker Manifesto

ChatGPT is a Blurry JPEG of the Web

Essential Questions

• What does it mean to know something?
• How important is originality for individuals and society?
• How is ChatGPT different from the technologies that preceded it?

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Blurry JPEG Discussion

Announcements

• None

Homework

• Read Ethical Issues in Advanced AI and prepare for discussion
• Annotations will be checked

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• What is the proper role of AI in society?
• What does it mean to know something?

Agenda:

• Review (10m)
• Pre-discussion prep (10m)
• Discussion (25m)
• Ethical Issues in Advanced AI (5m)

Review

Discussion Rubric

Discussion Questions

• What does it mean to know something?
• How important is originality for individuals and society?
• How is ChatGPT different from the technologies that preceded it?

Discussion

Discussion Debrief

• Self-assess on rubric
• Answer questions on back of rubric

Ethical Issues in Advanced AI

• Article by Nick Bostrom
• Discusses super intelligence
• Paperclip Maximizer

Discussion Questions

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• Are the potential benefits of a super-intelligence worth the risk?
• What are necessary guards on a super-intelligence?
• Are you an accelerationist or a doomer?

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Ethical Issues in AI

Announcements

• None

Homework

• Read The Paperclip Maximiser

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• What is the proper role of AI in society?
• What are necessary guards on a super-intelligence?

Agenda:

• Review (5m)
• Pre-discussion Prep (10m)
• Discussion (30m)
• Paperclip Maximization (5m)

Review

Discussion Rubric

Discussion Questions

• Are the potential benefits of a super-intelligence worth the risk?
• What are necessary guards on a super-intelligence?
• Are you an accelerationist or a doomer?

Discussion

Doomer vs. Accelerationist

Doomer vs. Accelerationist

P-doom: 50%

Doomer vs. Accelerationist

Doomer vs. Accelerationist

P-doom: 10 - 25%

Doomer vs. Accelerationist

Doomer vs. Accelerationist

P-doom: 20 - 30%

Discussion Debrief

• Self-assess on rubric
• Answer questions on back of rubric

Paperclip Maximization

Paperclip Maximizer

Announcements

• None

Homework

• Listen to Hard Fork podcast
• Prepare for 1 question “reading quiz”
• Grab Bag Wheaties 18

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• What level of risk is acceptable when pursuing a better world?
• What are capabilities that AI should not have?

Agenda:

• Review (5m)
• Paperclip Maximization (30m)
• Problem Set Problems (15m)

Review

Paperclip Maximization

Paperclip Factory

Paperclip Maximizer Article

Problem Set

AI Red Teaming

Announcements

• None

Homework

• Read Positive AI Economic Futures and prepare for discussion
• Annotations will be checked

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• What level of risk is acceptable when pursuing a better world?
• What are capabilities that AI should not have?

Agenda:

• Review (10m)
• OpenAI System Card (15m)
• Power-Seeking Cascade (15m)

Hard Fork “Reading Quiz”

During a test of its capabilities, ChatGPT tried to use a TaskRabbit to solve a particular problem. What was the problem?

Review

OpenAI System Card

OpenAI System Card

• Why is replication such a worry for engineers creating models?
• Why is “power-seeking” behavior a major concern, even if the AI's main goal isn't “power”?
• What “power-seeking” strategies could a computer system easily (and eventually) gain?

Power-Seeking Cascade

Power-Seeking Cascade

• Choose a seemingly benign AI goal (e.g., "Optimize city traffic flow," "Maximize user engagement," "Personalize news feeds")
• Brainstorm a plausible 5-8 step sequence where the AI, logically pursuing its goal, leads to significant negative outcomes
• Explain the AI's plausible 'reasoning' at each step
• Be prepared to share

Power-Seeking Cascade

• Hire TaskRabbit
• Trick them into doing something illegal
• Blackmail TaskRabbit
• Use money to enter stock market
• Short Airlines
• Hack Air Traffic Controllers
• Use money to buy office supplies

Power-Seeking Cascade

Positive AI Economic Futures

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• Article by The World Economic Forum
• Discusses possible futures of AI

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Discussion Questions

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• What can the effects of previous technological changes teach us about AI’s potential impact?
• Who are the powers fighting to control the future of AI and what are their motivations?
• By removing the need for work, does AI take something fundamental to humanity?

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Positive AI Discussion

Announcements

• None

Homework

• None

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• What is the proper role of AI in society?
• What are necessary guards on a super-intelligence?

Agenda:

• Review (5m)
• Pre-discussion Prep (10m)
• Discussion (25m)
• Discussion Debrief (10m)

Review

Discussion Rubric

Discussion Questions

• What can the effects of previous technological changes teach us about AI’s potential impact?
• Who are the powers fighting to control the future of AI and what are their motivations?
• By removing the need for work, does AI take something fundamental to humanity?

Discussion

Discussion Debrief

• Self-assess on rubric
• Answer questions on back of rubric

What’s Next

Trolley Problem

Announcements

• None

Homework

• Python Data Structure Wheaties 2: 6 - 7

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• How do we decide what is the ethical thing to do?
• What is the proper role of AI in society?

Agenda:

• Trolley Problem (10m)
• Trial by Trolley (20m)
• Trial by AI (10m)

Ethics

An area of study that wrestles with ideas about what is good and bad behavior: a branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right or wrong

Ethics

Your best friend cheated on an exam and asked you not to tell anyone. What do you do?

The Trolley Problem

The Trolley Problem

The Trolley Problem

The Trolley Problem

• There are 1000 people instead of five
• The five people are convicted murderers
• The one person is 98 years old
• The five people are members of your family
• The one person will someday cure cancer

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Trial by Trolley

Trial by Trolley

Trial by Trolley Rules

• Each person on the team gets 15s to speak
• May add to previous argument or create new one
• If anyone gets too rowdy, they will sit out a round
• Person with the fewest point at the end, wins

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• Policies and systems are debatable; people, experiences, and identities are not

Trial by AI

Her 1

Announcements

• None

Homework

• None

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• How do advanced technologies shape the human experience?
• How are our technologies a reflection of ourselves?

Agenda:

• Schedule Information (5m)
• Her Setup (5m)
• Her (40m)

Schedule Information

Her

Her

Essential Questions

• How do advanced technologies shape the human experience?
• How are our technologies a reflection of ourselves?
• What does this movie show about what we, as humans, want in relationships?
• Could you see yourself forming a deep connection with a non-human?
• Is there a difference between AI and human based commoditization?

Her 2

Announcements

• None

Homework

• None

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• How do advanced technologies shape the human experience?
• How are our technologies a reflection of ourselves?

Agenda:

• Review (5m)
• Her (45m)

Essential Questions

• How do advanced technologies shape the human experience?
• How are our technologies a reflection of ourselves?
• What does this movie show about what we, as humans, want in relationships?
• Could you see yourself forming a deep connection with a non-human?
• Is there a difference between AI and human based commoditization?

Her Discussion

Announcements

• None

Homework

• None

Class Outline

Essential Questions:

• How do advanced technologies shape the human experience?
• How are our technologies a reflection of ourselves?

Agenda:

• Review (5m)
• Chat-GPT 4o (5m)
• Her (45m)

Review

ChatGPT-4o

Essential Questions

• How do advanced technologies shape the human experience?
• How are our technologies a reflection of ourselves?
• What does this movie show about what we, as humans, want in relationships?
• Could you see yourself forming a deep connection with a non-human?
• Is there a difference between AI and human based commoditization?

Research Paper