Tag: Black box algorithms (in decision-making)

Stock Trader Sleeping At Multiple Computer's Desk

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Smith
Date
October 17, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics, Mathematics

Tagged
Alan Sokal, Black box algorithms (in decision-making), Data pruning, Featured, Harris Friedman, Internal rate of return (IRR), Lemonade insurance company, Losada line, Marcial Losada, Mathematics and comprehensibility, Net present value (NPV), Nick Brown, NPV vs. IRR, Principal components regression}

More Hard Math Does Not Necessarily Mean More Useful Solutions

_{It is sometimes tempting to overemphasize the math and underemphasize the relevance} _{Gary Smith

October 17, 2022

7

Business and Finance, Economics, Mathematics}

Math is said to be the language of science in that most (but definitely not all) scientific models of the world involve mathematical equations. The Pythagorean theorem, the normal distribution, Einstein’s energy-mass equivalence, Newton’s second law of motion, Newton’s universal law of gravitation, Planck’s equation. How could any of these remarkable models be expressed without math? Unfortunately, it is sometimes tempting to overemphasize the math and underemphasize the relevance. The brilliance of the models listed above lies not in mathematical pyrotechnics but, if anything, in their breath-taking simplicity. Useful models help us understand the world and make reliable predictions. Math for the sake of math does neither. Examples of mindless math are legion. I will give three very different examples. Read More ›

Positive girl resting on the couch with robot

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Smith
Date
May 11, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Technocracy

Tagged
Black box algorithms (in decision-making), Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Computer-based decision-making, Gary Smith (on GPT-3), GPT-3 (Gary Smith), LaMDA, Large Language Models (LLMs), Smith test, Turing Test}

Turing Tests Are Terribly Misleading

_{Black box algorithms are now being trusted to approve loans, price insurance, screen job applicants, trade stocks, determine prison sentences, and much more. Is that wise?} _{Gary Smith

May 11, 2022

8

Artificial Intelligence, Technocracy}

In 1950 Alan Turing proposed that the question, “Can machines think?,” be replaced by a test of how well a computer plays the “imitation game.” A man and woman go into separate rooms and respond with typewritten answers to questions that are intended to identify the players, each of whom is trying to persuade the interrogators that they are the other person. Turing proposed that a computer take the part of one of the players and the experiment be deemed a success if the interrogators are no more likely to make a correct identification. There are other versions of the game, some of which were suggested by Turing. The standard Turing test today involves a human and a computer and Read More ›