Gradient Dissent

The “neural network” technology that powers current artificial intelligence is exceptionally error prone, deceptive, poorly understood, and dangerous. It is widely used without adequate safeguards in situations where it causes increasing harms. It is not inevitable; we should replace it with better alternatives.

Gradient Dissent is divided in three chapters, plus an epilogue.

Gradient Dissent is a companion document for Better without AI. Originally a chapter in that book, I removed it because it goes into more detail than some readers would want. Although primarily meant as a supplement to the book, this document is self-contained, and you can read it on its own.

Reading Gradient Dissent requires no specific technical background. It neither assumes you know how neural networks work, nor does it contain an introductory explanation that would get you up to speed. You can understand the risks without knowledge of those details. If you run into technical bits that seem difficult, you can skim or skip over them without missing much.