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Something weird is happening with LLMs and chess

(dynomight.substack.com)
688 points crescit_eundo | 1 comments | 14 Nov 24 17:05 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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codeflo ◴[15 Nov 24 10:52 UTC] No.42145710[source]▶
At this point, we have to assume anything that becomes a published benchmark is specifically targeted during training. That's not something specific to LLMs or OpenAI. Compiler companies have done the same thing for decades, specifically detecting common benchmark programs and inserting hand-crafted optimizations. Similarly, the shader compilers in GPU drivers have special cases for common games and benchmarks.
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darkerside ◴[15 Nov 24 12:21 UTC] No.42146244[source]▶
VW got in a lot of trouble for this
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sigmoid10 ◴[15 Nov 24 13:08 UTC] No.42146560[source]▶
Apples and oranges. VW actually cheated on regulatory testing to bypass legal requirements. So to be comparable, the government would first need to pass laws where e.g. only compilers that pass a certain benchmark are allowed to be used for purchasable products and then the developers would need to manipulate behaviour during those benchmarks.
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0xFF0123 ◴[15 Nov 24 13:32 UTC] No.42146749[source]▶
The only difference is the legality. From an integrity point of view it's basically the same
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Thorrez ◴[15 Nov 24 13:47 UTC] No.42146884[source]▶
I think breaking a law is more unethical than not breaking a law.

Also, legality isn't the only difference in the VW case. With VW, they had a "good emissions" mode. They enabled the good emissions mode during the test, but disabled it during regular driving. It would have worked during regular driving, but they disabled it during regular driving. With compilers, there's no "good performance" mode that would work during regular usage that they're disabling during regular usage.

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1. Winse ◴[15 Nov 24 14:08 UTC] No.42147070{3}[source]▶
unless following an unethical law would in itself be unethical, then breaking the unethical law would be the only ethical choice. In this case cheating emissions, which I see as unethical, but also advantageous for the consumer, should have been done openly if VW saw following the law as unethical. Ethics and morality are subjective to understanding, and law only a crude approximation of divinity. Though I would argue that each person on the earth through a shared common experience has a rough and general idea of right from wrong...though I'm not always certain they pay attention to it.