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Robot prejudice

 
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 10:15 pm    Post subject: Robot prejudice Reply with quote

https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/06/robots-can-develop-prejudices-just-like-humans/?yptr=yahoo

In a fascinating study by researchers at Cardiff University and MIT, we learn that robots can develop prejudices when working together.

The robots, which ran inside a teamwork simulator, expressed prejudice against other robots not on their team. In short, write the researchers, “groups of autonomous machines could demonstrate prejudice by simply identifying, copying and learning this behavior from one another.”



To test the theory, researchers ran a simple game in a simulator. The game involved donating to parties outside or inside the robot’s personal group based on reputation as well as donation strategy.

They were able to measure the level of prejudice against outsiders. As the simulation ran, they saw a rise in prejudice against outsiders over time.

The researchers found the prejudice was easy to grow in the simulator, a fact that should give us pause as we give robots more autonomy.

“Our simulations show that prejudice is a powerful force of nature and through evolution, it can easily become incentivised in virtual populations, to the detriment of wider connectivity with others. Protection from prejudicial groups can inadvertently lead to individuals forming further prejudicial groups, resulting in a fractured population. Such widespread prejudice is hard to reverse,” said Cardiff University Professor Roger Whitaker. “It is feasible that autonomous machines with the ability to identify with discrimination and copy others could in future be susceptible to prejudicial phenomena that we see in the human population.”

Interestingly, prejudice fell when there were “more distinct subpopulations being present within a population,” an important consideration in human prejudice as well.

“With a greater number of subpopulations, alliances of non-prejudicial groups can cooperate without being exploited. This also diminishes their status as a minority, reducing the susceptibility to prejudice taking hold.

However, this also requires circumstances where agents have a higher disposition towards interacting outside of their group,” Professor Whitaker said.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I can't explain why these rudimentary A.I. system might seem to demonstrate a preference for some robots over others, but I'm pretty sure it isn't related to the highly emotional, completely illogical, and sadly irrational feelings which bigoted human beings demonstrate towards certain groups of their fellow man.

All this sounds like a sad attempt to justify mankind's bigoted attitudes by claiming that A.I. systems can be just as stupid as people. I think the whole thing is just a glitch in the system . . . sort of like comparing a computer virus to the flu! Shocked

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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud, social prejudices are an ingrown factor of our DNA. It has existed in humans since one cave thought it was preferred over the cave people over the hill. It exists when one paramecium prefers others of his genus over other organisims. The fact that this trait seems to arise in artificial organisims is telling. Prejudices may just well be a survival factor in allowing one group to thrive over competing groups in allocating resources.

Don't fall into the trap of equating prejudice with bigotry. You show prejudice every time you show a preference, even if it's in eating chicken over fish or buying a black car rather than a yellow one. Bigotry is the stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own.

Illogical? The Universe is under no obligation to be logical. Just ask any quantum physics expert.

Hopefully, the fact that humans have the ability to overcome these traits may be of some relief. Socialy we have been able to resist the urge to mate indescriminantly and scarf down your neighbors dinner.

Reason and human logical thought can overcome the innate biological urges, so perhaps there is hope yet..

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 6:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gord Green wrote:
Don't fall into the trap of equating prejudice with bigotry.

Gord, you lost the argument when you made the above statement.

Consider the definitions of the two terms.

prejudice = preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.

bigotry = intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself.

In both cases, the prejudiced person and the bigoted person make no effort to form their opinions based on objective logic and intelligent reasons. They ignore any evidence that refutes their beliefs, and they reject any opinion different from their own.

In short, neither one of them has the brains God gave geese.

Your statement which claims that "prejudice" is the same as "preference" when a person chooses chicken for dinner or the purchase of a black car at the dealership proves my point rather than yours. Shocked

My personal choices in matters like that aren't made to criticize those people who prefer pork chops or blue cars! That would be bigotry.

But a prejudice is, by it's very nature, is a condemnation of anyone else who doesn't agree that chicken is better than port chops, or that black cars are better than blue cars!

My basic assertion is that an A.I. systems do not yet have ingrained "preferences" or "prejudices". Any behavior they have which resembles these behaviors must be flaws in the programming and should be addressed at such.

A bigot is someone prejudiced against anyone who disagrees with his one beliefs. They don't consider the opinions of others to be as valid as their own.

But people who are NOT bigoted understand that anyone who doesn't share their own preferences have opinions that are equally valid.

However, if you don't agree with this, I respect your opinion. (That proves I'm not prejudiced. I just have preferences.) Very Happy

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:19 am; edited 2 times in total
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the example given in the above article "prejudice" is equated with "preference". My example of the chicken or black car also proves this. There are little logical reasons for preferring one over the other but you make your choice from preconceived factors. Some may be based upon experience, but not necessarily so.

Further, the whole process of "natural selection" depends upon the principle that nature selects (Or has preference for) those organisms best suited for survival. There is no logic in that selection, other than suitability. If conditions of environment changes so do the factors leading the selection of the most suitable. This process is the driving force of evolution and ingrained in our DNA from the beginning.

One problem is that the above article uses the word "prejudice" to describe this phenomena instead of a term that describes the selection of preference for what is familiar over what is unknown. In the above article the word is used for sensational effect while describing something altogether different. There is no difference between any of the "robots" in the experiment other than being an "in" group or an "out" group.

Consider this-----

if "preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. " is the definition of prejudice-----

If I had the choice of breathing from a tank of oxygen or chlorine----

Now, I have no experience of breathing chlorine and the preconceived attitude I have of it is that it's not so good-----
I would choose to breath the oxygen. I would have no hatred or dislike for chlorine, but as far as breathing is concerned I would select the oxygen. My preconceived opinion is that I would greatly prefer it!

I think you have to step back and look at what our argument is.

Racial/religious/ethnic prejudice is a bad thing----no argument there.

My point is that the trait toward it is built into the organism. whether it's called "territoriality" in prides of lions or groups of baboons or some other term it still IS a common mammalian trait.

That's NOT to say that it can't be overcome with reason and knowledge.

It only shows that it is natural to have a preference for the known group over the unknown.


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gord Green wrote:
In the example given in the above article "prejudice" is equated with "preference". My example of the chicken or black car also proves this. There are little logical reasons for preferring one over the other but you make your choice from preconceived factors. Some may be based upon experience, but not necessarily so.

What you seem to be leaving out here is the fact that a person who has a prejudice for-or-against something tends to be unwilling to examine there positive or negative feelings to determine if they're reasonable.

A reasonable person can change their opinion about something if they're presented with new facts that support a new conclusion on their part. Their "preference" can be based, as you said, on experience. A bad experience creates a negative feeling. A good experience creates a positive one.

A new experience which involves the thing they have a preference for (or against) can change their opinion.

"I never liked potato salad very much until I tried Bud's Crispy Potato Salad last Thanksgiving!" Very Happy






The bigoted person with a negative prejudice, however, refuses to try new experiences because he's not willing to consider the possibility that he might change his mind.

"I'm not going have any of that stuff Bud made, because I don't like potato salad!" Sad

That's the important difference between a "preference" (which is usually based on past experience), and a "prejudice" (which is often based on unfounded preconceived ideas, and the person refuses to change them).

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