And is it a good model for value learning in AI?

TLDR

Shard theory proposes a view of value formation where experiences lead to the creation of context-based ‘shards’ that determine behaviour. Here, we go over psychological and neuroscientific views of learning, and find that while shard theory's emphasis on context bears similarity to types of learning such as conditioning, it does not address top-down influences that may decrease the locality of value-learning in the brain.

What's Shard Theory (and why do we care)?

In 2022, Quintin Pope and Alex Turner posted ‘The shard theory of human values’, where they described their view of how experiences shape the value we place on things. They give an example of a baby who enjoys drinking juice, and eventually learns that grabbing at the juice pouch, moving around to find the juice pouch, and modelling where the [...]

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Outline:

(00:08) TLDR

(00:38) What's Shard Theory (and why do we care)?

(02:01) A Crash Course on Human Learning

(16:30) Where does Shard Theory come in?

(24:52) Conclusions

(26:09) Next Steps

(26:34) Thanks

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.