Links for 2021-12-25
Anthropic (an AI safety company) published their first interpretability paper exploring a mathematical framework for trying to reverse engineer transformer language models: A Mathematical Framework for Transformer Circuits https://transformer-circuits.pub/2021/framework/index.html
The idea(s) behind rationalism: expected utility maximization — “If we could put the practical difficulties aside and make every decision this way, we'd be able to understand disagreements and debates much better...we'd know which parts of these disagreements and debates are debates about how the world is (probabilities) vs. disagreements in what we care about (values).” https://www.cold-takes.com/the-bayesian-mindset/
China is restricting imports of encryption with keys > 256. The current industry-standard algorithms use keys of <= 256 bits. What does, however, often use longer keys is post-quantum algorithms. https://sanctionsnews.bakermckenzie.com/mofcom-issues-new-encryption-import-control-effective-immediately/
“Much of medicine relies on what is dubbed "small molecules"…But, like, the vast majority of molecules found in our body, and in all of organic life, are not classified as "small". And the vast majority of the things doing something interesting are not really molecules, but more so fuzzy complexes of molecules (ribosomes, lysosomes, lipoproteins, membranes).” epistem.ink/p/the-limits-of-medicine-part-1-small
Goal-Directed Story Generation: Augmenting Generative Language Models with Reinforcement Learning https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.08593
To draw down carbon and cool off the planet, ocean fertilization gets another look https://www.science.org/content/article/draw-down-carbon-and-cool-planet-ocean-fertilization-gets-another-look [bypass paywall: https://archive.ph/hoZ1B]
The flavonoid procyanidin C1 has senotherapeutic activity and increases lifespan in mice https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-021-00491-8
Multicellular creatures evolved in the first place because cells that cooperate had an evolutionary leg up on the unicellular competition Cancer cells cheat in that multicellular cooperation. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-evolution-helps-us-understand-cancer-and-control-it/
China has connected its first small modular reactor to the grid https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-21/new-reactor-spotlights-china-s-push-to-lead-way-in-nuclear-power
Becoming a physician increases the use of antidepressants, opioids, anxiolytics, and sedatives, especially for female physicians. https://www.nber.org/papers/w29536
How to Learn and Represent Abstractions: An Investigation using Symbolic Alchemy https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.08360
Intelli-Paint: Towards Developing Human-like Painting Agents https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.08930
“After more than three decades as a physician, the Q maniacs have succeeded in driving me out of providing care to patients.” https://www.reddit.com/r/QAnonCasualties/comments/rakxun/my_career_of_treating_patients_has_ended/
Much disagreement is about definitions or the lack thereof.
Making sure that everyone agrees upon a definition will help to clarify and focus on the subject of a discussion.
Here are a few examples of differing definitions of important issues.
“Hypothesis”
Technical meaning: Informed and falsifiable prediction.
Public meaning: Guess.
“Theory”
Technical meaning: A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment.
Public meaning: A guess or unsubstantiated idea.
“Estimate”
Technical meaning: An approximation that yields a sufficiently accurate solution while reducing the complexity of the problem.
Public meaning: Guess.
“Significant”
Technical meaning: Distinguishable from random chance.
Public meaning: Distinguishable from something that does not matter.
“Error”
Technical meaning: Difference from exact true number.
Public meaning: Mistake; wrong; incorrect.
“Evidence”
Technical meaning: Evidence for a given theory is the observation of an event that is more likely to occur if the theory is true than if it is false.
Public meaning: Proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Chemical”
Technical meaning: An entity consisting of 2 or more atoms, at least 2 from different elements, which bond due to the electrostatic force of attraction between atoms with opposite charges, or through the sharing of electrons.
Public meaning: Synthetic, toxic, poison.
“Radiation”
Technical meaning: The emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium.
Public meaning: Dangerous rays that make you ill (cause cancer) or kill you.
“Pedophilia”
Technical meaning: Primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.
Public meaning: Sexual attraction to children, pubescent or post-pubescent teenagers.
“Terrorism”
Technical meaning: Use of intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror, or fear, to achieve a political, religious or ideological aim.
Public meaning: Any carnage or rampage.
“Academic”
Technical meaning: Member of the scientific research community.
Public meaning: Irrelevant; theoretical.
“Bacteria”
Technical meaning: Unicellular organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus, mitochondria, or any other membrane-bound organelle.
Public meaning: Stuff you can’t see that’s going to make you sick; infectious agents; pathogenic germs.
“Fossils”
Technical meaning: The preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past.
Public meaning: Old bones.
“Positive trend”
Technical meaning: Upward trend.
Public meaning: Good trend.
“Natural”
Technical meaning: Not made or caused by humankind; not intelligently designed.
Public meaning: Good; healthy.
“Heritable”
Technical meaning: The proportion of the variation in a given trait within a population that is not explained by the environment or random chance.
Public meaning: Genetically determined.