{"id":9491,"date":"2024-05-31T16:02:13","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T16:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/?p=9491"},"modified":"2024-10-08T15:54:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T15:54:05","slug":"homo-ex-machina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/31\/homo-ex-machina\/","title":{"rendered":"Homo Ex Machina"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"9491\" class=\"elementor elementor-9491\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-444f47bf elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"444f47bf\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6d105b77\" data-id=\"6d105b77\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-236a8a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"236a8a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-75663089\" data-id=\"75663089\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d5291f5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"5d5291f5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"864\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Joshua-Reddekopp-on-Unsplash.jpg?fit=864%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-9551\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Joshua-Reddekopp-on-Unsplash.jpg?w=864&amp;ssl=1 864w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Joshua-Reddekopp-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Joshua-Reddekopp-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Photo by Joshua Reddekopp on Unsplash<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4800e9a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4800e9a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Homo Ex Machina<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-46c49254 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"46c49254\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-67a57287\" data-id=\"67a57287\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-3f88f760 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3f88f760\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-643cef2a\" data-id=\"643cef2a\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7e10e65f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7e10e65f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We put attention at the center of AI\u2014now we have to attend to who we are in the face of what we\u2019ve made.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-367abfbe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"367abfbe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>By Joshua Rio-Ross<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-23f05c0c\" data-id=\"23f05c0c\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-454d79 elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"454d79\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"output\" class=\"page-generator__output js-generator-output\"><p>In 2018, a collection of Google researchers released a seminal paper titled \u201cAttention Is All You Need.\u201d AIAYN introduced a new machine learning model architecture called \u201cthe transformer.\u201d This architecture dramatically decreased the amount of time it took to train a model to perform common language tasks like translation, captioning, and chat. Today, the large language models (LLMs) propelling the AI revolution such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude all use this transformer architecture. What&#8217;s followed\u2014besides a rising chorus of AI generated songs about cats and a rash of suspiciously coherent student essays\u2014are haunting questions about what these technologies mean for our future and, more disturbingly, what about our humanity is reducible to a machine\u2019s algorithm. In retrospect, AIAYN was a groundbreaking work of the humanities precisely because of the technical breakthrough it introduced.<\/p><p>As the snappy title suggests, transformers were revolutionary because of their novel implementation of \u201cattention,\u201d formally the \u201cattention mechanism.\u201d Attention is used throughout the transformer architecture. In technical terms, there&#8217;s encoder self-attention, decoder self-attention, and encoder-decoder attention. Narrowed to the context of chatting with an LLM, those technical terms roughly correspond to the model focusing on what the user&#8217;s prompt means, focusing on what the model\u2019s own response means, and focusing on how the user&#8217;s prompt and the model&#8217;s response are relating to each other while the response is being generated. (Language models don&#8217;t \u201cthink\u201d conceptually first and then articulate that thinking; they generate a word based on two things: the prompt and the response generated so far. They are \u201cspeaking on the fly.\u201d)<\/p><p>The attention mechanism in transformers is how the transformer weighs what matters most in the context of its objective. Let\u2019s take as an example encoder self-attention, the case where its objective is to interpret a user&#8217;s prompt. Suppose someone mischievous prompts a language model with, \u201cGive me fair grounds for arguing that all models are flawed.\u201d The model might have baseline ways of encoding what each of these words means (called \u201cembeddings\u201d), but it (like we) has to determine, for instance, that the user doesn\u2019t want \u201cfair grounds\u201d where they can buy cotton candy and ride a Ferris wheel, but rather \u201cfair grounds\u201d in the sense of a reasonable basis for something. But the LLM has to do this by attending to the rest of the sentence. Very likely, the words that clue you and me into this are the same ones to which the model is attending: \u201carguing\u201d and \u201cthat models\u201d and maybe \u201cflawed.\u201d Though the user could still want a carnival-like venue for hosting an argument, we\u2019d need some convincing before assuming so. With no further context to pull us in that direction, we conclude (without absolute certainty) that the user wants help thinking through something. All of this interpretive work is present for us as readers just as it\u2019s present for the model. But how is the model\u2019s \u201cattention\u201d to the sentence similar to our own\u2014and how is it different from our own?<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ba301d2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ba301d2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"864\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Nate-Grant-on-Unsplash.jpg?fit=864%2C486&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-9552\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Nate-Grant-on-Unsplash.jpg?w=864&amp;ssl=1 864w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Nate-Grant-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Nate-Grant-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Nate-Grant-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=800%2C450&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Photo by Nate Grant on Unsplash<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1cee6d08 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1cee6d08\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-393c2ebe\" data-id=\"393c2ebe\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-65aacd33 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"65aacd33\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-41677551\" data-id=\"41677551\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-59e566a2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"59e566a2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?fit=300%2C226&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-520\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?w=309&amp;ssl=1 309w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?resize=300%2C226&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3a7beff2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3a7beff2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>As soon as we start thinking about machine learning, we use our own understanding of learning as a baseline for what the model is doing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-65f8ab40\" data-id=\"65f8ab40\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-25917ee3 elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"25917ee3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"output\" class=\"page-generator__output js-generator-output\"><p>The question matters because it forces us to consider our language about artificial intelligence. When we talk about large language models, are we actually modeling something, or does \u201cmodel\u201d have a different sense when it\u2019s used like this? Has the word\u2019s meaning evolved, and if so, why? Or if LLMs are modeling something, what are they modeling? Are they doing it well? Do they need to do it well, or do they just need to do it functionally? When we say \u201cartificial intelligence,\u201d is intelligence modeled after human intelligence or our conception of intelligence in general? And can these two things actually be distinguished, or is all human thought about thinking damned to only trace our own horizons?<\/p><p>I explained the model\u2019s attention by using our own disambiguation process as the guiding analogy. But by introducing an intuitive analogy based upon human cognition, I\u2019m being dangerously suggestive\u2014I\u2019m suggesting that the model&#8217;s \u201cencoder self-attention\u201d is doing the same thing we&#8217;re doing when we attend to something. I can even take the analogy further: I might say, for example, that the attention mechanism allows the model to focus on which parts of the prompt are most important for choosing what to say next. And this is right\u2014up to how fuzzily you are willing to use anthropomorphic terms such as \u201cfocus\u201d and \u201cimportant&#8221; and \u201cchoosing.\u201d<\/p><p>We\u2019re baited into these analogies by the term \u201cattention\u201d in the first place. We&#8217;re actually baited into this as soon as we hear the terms \u201cmachine learning\u201d and \u201cartificial intelligence.\u201d As soon as we start thinking about machine learning, we use our own understanding of learning as a baseline for what the model is doing. But once we can think about how the model is structured or how it\u2019s working on our own terms, we\u2019re immediately tempted to turn the dynamic around and think of ourselves on the model\u2019s terms. We\u2019re already familiar with this in other casual contexts: We say the computer has memory, but then we turn around and say we \u201cdon&#8217;t have enough memory\u201d to \u201cprocess\u201d a lecture; we say we\u2019re \u201chardwired\u201d or \u201cprogrammed\u201d to chew loudly; we measure our \u201coutput\u201d and \u201cupgrade\u201d our tastes and \u201cdouble click\u201d on a point in conversation.<\/p><p>Plenty of thinkers have explored the ramifications of this phenomenon. Hegel feared that the scientific revolution would preclude any further revolutions in how humanity lives and thinks, that we\u2019d moved too far from the source of language. Bonhoeffer thought that the technologies we build wield us more than we wield them. Ratzinger traced out an epistemological history wherein Western thinkers go from conceiving knowing as a participation in divine knowing to (after several stops along the way) knowing as only possible with respect to what we have made.<\/p><p>In the context of machine learning, these thinkers lead us to think there\u2019s a risk in naming computer functions after human faculties: If we believe we can only know that which we\u2019ve made, then we reduce our ability to know to the functionality of what we\u2019ve made. Said differently: We must at least ask whether framing machine learning architectures in terms of our own faculties can\u2014for example\u2014result first in an anemic conception of human faculties and, in turn, actually result in anemic faculties. And if that actually happens, the very process of naming what we\u2019ve made is the process by which we close ourselves off to our own potential. We limit what our own minds can do. As soon as we invent a model, we limit alternative conceptions of how and what we can think. The model frames what it models in absolute terms.<\/p><p>But what\u2019s the alternative here? I suspect eschewing all projections of ourselves onto our technologies is extreme, especially considering that while the language for cognition might be uniquely human, cognition is not. Maybe my dog\u2019s attention to the rabbit loafing on my patio is qualitatively different from my attention to my dog watching the rabbit on my patio, but apart from a robust theological anthropology, that distinction isn\u2019t at all obvious. We\u2019re both harnessing our faculties, perhaps in varying degrees, toward an object or activity. Likewise, most theological language suggests that God attends to creation. But in all of these cases, we cannot presume that the term \u201cattention\u201d is used identically, but rather analogically.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2a59dcd elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2a59dcd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"864\" height=\"648\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Kevin-Ku-on-Unsplash.jpg?fit=864%2C648&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-9553\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Kevin-Ku-on-Unsplash.jpg?w=864&amp;ssl=1 864w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Kevin-Ku-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Kevin-Ku-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Photo by Kevin Ku on Unsplash<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7cbd07e4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7cbd07e4\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-73c7b5d6\" data-id=\"73c7b5d6\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4ff3841b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4ff3841b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-4f46d7ae\" data-id=\"4f46d7ae\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-389a84e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"389a84e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?fit=300%2C226&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-520\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?w=309&amp;ssl=1 309w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?resize=300%2C226&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-10c2d08a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"10c2d08a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We have to ask how the model\u2019s attention is similar to our own because it forces us to think about not only our language but also about ourselves.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-73026a10\" data-id=\"73026a10\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4b7f447d elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4b7f447d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"output\" class=\"page-generator__output js-generator-output\"><p>So my earlier statement was incomplete. We have to ask how the model\u2019s attention is similar to our own because it forces us to think about not only our language but also about ourselves. It forces us to consider how our language forms our self-perception. And it forces us to consider how we relate to what we make. Like the contextual reasoning we used earlier, analogical reasoning is classical human work. Theological anthropology is rife with it, and we can learn from its conscientious practitioners, like Aquinas and Bonaventure. These and other great thinkers sought to illuminate both divinity and humanity through analogical language\u2014a conceptual framework formally referred to as the <em>analogia entis<\/em>. Essential to this framework is the conviction that analogies have dual usefulness. They are not statements of identity but rather comparisons that offer insight through both similarity and dissimilarity. Likewise, comparisons between humans and machine learning models can illuminate each, but only if we attend to the dual sides of the analogy. If we speak of humanity and machines univocally, then our language either fails to articulate the sense of what it represents (i.e., it will be false or nonsensical) or it will do violence to what it represents by reducing the reality it speaks of.<\/p><p>Two examples stand out in the case of \u201cattention.\u201d First, in machine learning, attention to one thing can mean attention to another. Attention is a weighted relationship. To think about how the user meant \u201cfair grounds,\u201d we have to look to the other words and their relationships. So we have the noun-phrase we\u2019re interested in (fair grounds), the question we want answered (does this word nuance the meaning of the noun phrase?), and the rest of the words of the sentence that may or may not matter to us for answering the question. Attention is the weight of relevance between the words given the question we want answered. So here, in the dividing up of the model\u2019s resources, \u201carguing\u201d might get high attention as it relates to \u201cfair grounds,\u201d whereas \u201cgive\u201d and \u201cme\u201d get little. Similarly, for humans we typically speak of \u201cpaying attention\u201d as though attention is a scarce resource that must be rationed. Our intuition is that if one pays attention to everything, then one is not actually paying attention at all but rather is scatterbrained, frantic, distracted, confused.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5d88d99d elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5d88d99d\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-666b288\" data-id=\"666b288\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26f8d17 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"26f8d17\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"864\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Safar-Safarov-on-Unsplash.jpg?fit=864%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-9554\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Safar-Safarov-on-Unsplash.jpg?w=864&amp;ssl=1 864w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Safar-Safarov-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Safar-Safarov-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Photo by Safar Safarov on Unsplash<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4342bc86 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4342bc86\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-4ea730ac\" data-id=\"4ea730ac\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2b5edbbc elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2b5edbbc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?fit=300%2C226&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-520\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?w=309&amp;ssl=1 309w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FF-Quotation-1.png?resize=300%2C226&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-68c1f8b4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"68c1f8b4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Just as for humans, decisions about \u201cattention\u201d in a world of infinite choices force questions of \u201ccharacter.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-5315b652\" data-id=\"5315b652\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-515ac45e elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"515ac45e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"output\" class=\"page-generator__output js-generator-output\"><p>One notable difference between human attention and ML attention is the notion of attention span, i.e., a measure of how long one can sustain an act of attention. Human wakefulness is a sustained arbitration of attention, a perpetual directing of one\u2019s faculties toward the world. One\u2019s ability and one\u2019s willingness to maintain attention become characteristic of who and how one is in the world. Living entails deciding what to pay attention to, as well as how long to pay that attention before moving on.<\/p><p>This concept isn\u2019t meaningfully present in machine learning. We can speak of a model\u2019s attention being sustained while it performs its calculations, but this is merely a question of computational performance; there\u2019s no threat of digression or distraction or cutting short of its attention from one thing to another. Whenever it attends, it performs its work until completion, and then the transformer moves on to other steps in its algorithm.<\/p><p>But this isn\u2019t to say that the notion of an attention span couldn\u2019t be meaningful for machine learning. Today, many machine-learning models are \u201ccontinually trained,\u201d meaning that the model is continually updated to account for new data coming through whatever system it serves. Continual training allows the model to respond to changing circumstances, needs, or user preferences. Recommendation systems for music or movies or series are good examples. So are forecasting models that use traffic patterns, weather, and other features to forecast when you will arrive somewhere by car. The possibility of continual learning for ML models opens up the possibility of simulated \u201cawareness\u201d with which the model is processing and responding to a continual stream of stimuli, just as we have to. And once that\u2019s the case, questions arise of both <em>what <\/em>the model attends to and <em>how long<\/em> the model attends to them. Given that attention as we\u2019ve described it for transformers is guided by some objective to accomplish, we have to ask about the model some of the same haunting questions we ask about ourselves: What should hold its attention? For how long? Does something need to break that attention? On what basis does the model prioritize one thing over another? Just as for humans, decisions about \u201cattention\u201d in a world of infinite choices force questions of \u201ccharacter.\u201d<\/p><p>Here, even a short analogical treatment of human attention and ML attention offers fruitful ground in two directions, so long as the analogy is maintained and the two aren\u2019t allowed to collapse into each other. Rather than explaining human attention wholesale, the model\u2019s attention opens questions about us that we should take seriously, even if those questions highlight characteristics we have that the model does not. Conversely, ML\u2019s most significant advancements have always precipitated from advancements in how we understand our own learning and thinking. This identifies theology and the humanities as compass and wind for AI exploration rather than dead weight. These disciplines can help us understand ourselves so we can both build better models that interact with the world and help us better interact in the world. If we\u2019re lucky\u2014no: attentive\u2014they\u2019ll also help us remember why we\u2019re building all this in the first place.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-94c38fb elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"94c38fb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"513\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Clint-Patterson-on-Unsplash.jpg?fit=768%2C513&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-9555\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Clint-Patterson-on-Unsplash.jpg?w=864&amp;ssl=1 864w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Clint-Patterson-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Photo-by-Clint-Patterson-on-Unsplash.jpg?resize=768%2C513&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Photo by Clint Patterson on Unsplash<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-1748f676 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1748f676\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-4ca241de\" data-id=\"4ca241de\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-1702ae77\" data-id=\"1702ae77\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f79e5f7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3f79e5f7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Joshua Rio-Ross<\/strong> is a data scientist interested in how AI can streamline cancer diagnosis and treatment. He received his Master&#8217;s in Philosophical Theology from Yale Divinity School. In his free time, he enjoys talking about Dostoyevsky with his wife, strangers, and, occasionally, his dogs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We put attention at the center of AI\u2014now we have to attend to who we are in the face of what we\u2019ve made. By Joshua 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