Astral Codex Ten Podcast
Book Review: A Clinical Introduction To Lacanian Psychoanalysis
27 Apr 2022
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/book-review-a-clinical-introduction [epistemic status: I didn't understand this book. Think of this review as detailing the ways I didn't understand it and hypothesizing what certain parts might mean, and not as an attempt to summarize/re-explain something I understand well] I. Remember that AI? From the mesa-optimizers post a few weeks ago? It was trained to pick strawberries. The programmers rewarded it whenever it got a strawberry in its bucket. It started by flailing around, gradually shifted its behavior towards the reward signal, and ended up with a tendency to throw red things at light sources - in the training environment, strawberries were the only red thing, and the glint of the metal bucket was the brightest light source. Later, after training was done, it was deployed at night, and threw strawberries at a streetlight. Also, when someone with a big bulbous red nose walked by, it ripped his nose off and threw that at the streetlight too. Suppose somebody tried connecting a language model to the AI. "You're a strawberry picking robot," they told it. "I'm a strawberry picking robot," it repeated, because that was the sequence of words that earned it the most reward. Somewhere in its electronic innards, there was a series of neurons that corresponded to "I'm a strawberry-picking robot", and if asked what it was, it would dutifully retrieve that sentence. But actually, it ripped off people's noses and threw them at streetlights. Ā
Full Episode
Welcome to the Astral Codex X podcast for the 26th of April 2022. Title, Book Review, A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis. This is an audio version of Astral Codex X, Scott Alexander's Substack. You can find it at astralcodex10.substack.com
Epistemic status.
I didn't understand this book. Think of this review as detailing the ways I didn't understand it and hypothesizing what certain parts might mean and not as an attempt to summarize or re-explain something I understand well. 1. Remember that AI? From the Mesa Optimizers post, Lincoln Post, a few weeks ago. It was trained to pick strawberries.
the programmers rewarded it whenever it got a strawberry in its bucket. It started by flailing around, gradually shifted its behaviour towards the reward signal and ended up with a tendency to throw red things at light sources. In the training environment, strawberries were the only red thing and the glint of the metal bucket was the brightest light source.
Later, after training was done, it was deployed at night and threw strawberries at a streetlight. Also, when someone with a big bulbous red nose walked by, it ripped his nose off and threw that at the streetlight too. Suppose somebody tried connecting a language model to the AI. You're a strawberry-picking robot, they told it.
I'm a strawberry-picking robot, it repeated, because that was the sequence of words that earned it the most reward. Somewhere in its electronic innards, there was a series of neurons that corresponded to I'm a strawberry-picking robot, and if asked what it was, it would dutifully retrieve that sentence. But actually, it ripped off people's noses and threw them at streetlights.
It went to the robot psychiatrist. Doc, it said, I'm a good robot, a decent robot. All I want is to pick strawberries. like my social role tells me, but I have this weird compulsion, you could even call it a fetish, for ripping off noses and throwing them at streetlights. You gotta help me, doc.
I know this is a weird way to start this book review, but I kept thinking about it while reading A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis, link in post, by Bruce Fink. Psychoanalysis, like AI alignment, is about how newly created entities get desires and what happens if the desire they get isn't the one other people wanted them to have.
Fink writes, We must first examine the nature and development of human desire. During infancy, our primary caretakers are immensely important to us, our lives being intimately tied to theirs. They are our primary source of attention and affection, and we often attempt to win their love by conforming to their wishes.
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