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It's tough to assign blame and responsibility to systems that are inherently probabilistic. ML algorithms output probabilities so even as the algorithms get inc

It's tough to assign blame and responsibility to systems that are inherently probabilistic. ML algorithms output probabilities so even as the algorithms get incredibly good, unlikely scenarios will inevitably occur in large enough samples. This isn't a problem when the task is to tag your Facebook photos but is a problem when driving a car in the real world.

OnlyOneCannolo 6y ago
>It's tough to assign blame and responsibility to systems that are inherently probabilistic. I hear this all the time nowadays, but everything has always been probabilistic. Most of the time, people just don't realize that all problems are fundamentally the same from the perspective of how to approach risk.
- superbcarrot 6y ago
  I'm not following. How is everything probabilistic (in a meaningful way)? Most other systems don't have built in uncertainty in the same way ML does.
  - OnlyOneCannolo 6y ago
    Physical systems are probabilistic. Environmental conditions are probabilistic. And we've been trusting our safety to physical products operating in the real world for a long time. Whether physical or ML or whatever ... There's always some process that you can't characterize to your liking. So you explore mitigation options until you can make a decision about whether to accept the risk. Standards and regulations enforce that you went through those steps to get a reasonably trustworthy result. Then liability law applies in the usual way. Actuaries and accountants tell you what it's going to cost you, and market research tells you how much it might sell for. Inability to control or understand what you built doesn't absolve you of any fault or responsibility. All it does is change your risk acceptance criteria.
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    All our models are inherently probabilistic. The way we perceive and reason about the world is probabilistic, too.

OnlyOneCannolo 6y ago

>It's tough to assign blame and responsibility to systems that are inherently probabilistic. I hear this all the time nowadays, but everything has always been probabilistic. Most of the time, people just don't realize that all problems are fundamentally the same from the perspective of how to approach risk.

superbcarrot 6y ago
I'm not following. How is everything probabilistic (in a meaningful way)? Most other systems don't have built in uncertainty in the same way ML does.
- OnlyOneCannolo 6y ago
  Physical systems are probabilistic. Environmental conditions are probabilistic. And we've been trusting our safety to physical products operating in the real world for a long time. Whether physical or ML or whatever ... There's always some process that you can't characterize to your liking. So you explore mitigation options until you can make a decision about whether to accept the risk. Standards and regulations enforce that you went through those steps to get a reasonably trustworthy result. Then liability law applies in the usual way. Actuaries and accountants tell you what it's going to cost you, and market research tells you how much it might sell for. Inability to control or understand what you built doesn't absolve you of any fault or responsibility. All it does is change your risk acceptance criteria.
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  All our models are inherently probabilistic. The way we perceive and reason about the world is probabilistic, too.