Our weekly seminar series welcomes Travis LaCroix, postdoctoral fellow at the Schwartz Reisman Institute in 2020-21. LaCroix is a philosopher of language, science, and biology whose work is informed by evolutionary game theory. He will present a talk entitled “The tragedy of the AI commons,” based on work co-authored by Aydin Mohseni.
Talk title
“The tragedy of the AI commons”
Abstract
Artificial intelligence promises to fundamentally change nearly every facet of our lives, for better or worse. In response to this reality, there has been a proliferation of policy and guideline proposals for ethical AI research. These documents are meant to specify ‘best practices’ to which engineers, developers, researchers, etc. ought to adhere. However, such documents are ‘non-legislative policy instruments’: they are meant to promote cooperation but are not legally binding.
So, these reports are not intended to produce enforceable rules but are meant merely as guides for ethical practice. The proliferation of such guides raises pressing questions about their efficacy. In this talk, we demonstrate how game-theoretic analysis elucidates the conditions for cooperative success of the responsible development of artificial intelligence.
About Travis LaCroix
Travis LaCroix received his PhD in 2020 from the department of Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of California, Irvine. In addition to his appointment at Schwartz Reisman, he is also a postdoctoral fellow at Mila - Québec Artificial Intelligence Institute and the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research (Université de Montréal), where he studied ethically aligned artificial intelligence with Yoshua Bengio (Mila, UdeM, CIFAR) and Dominic Martin (UQàM). LaCroix previously received an MA (2018) in Social Science from the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences at UC Irvine, as well as an MA (2016) in Philosophy from Simon Fraser University and a BA (2014) in Philosophy (Hons.) and English Literature from the University of British Columbia. His Erdös number is 4.
About the SRI Seminar Series
The SRI Seminar Series brings together the Schwartz Reisman community and beyond for a robust exchange of ideas that advance scholarship at the intersection of technology and society. Seminars are led by a leading or emerging scholar and feature extensive discussion.
Each week, a featured speaker will present for 45 minutes, followed by 45 minutes of discussion. Registered attendees will be emailed a Zoom link approximately one hour before the event begins. The event will be recorded and posted online.
Travis LaCroix