Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

A Bayesian Approach to Safe Imitation Learning For AIs and Robots

In his wonderful 1943 short story Q.U.R., science fiction writer Anthony Boucher writes about robots that are able to learn by viewing hundreds of images:

"I got one of those new electronic cameras - you know, one thousand exposures per second... So we took pictures of Guzub making a Three Planets, and I could construct this one to do it exactly right down to the thousandth of a second. The proper proportion of vuzd, in case you're interested, works out to three-point-six-five-four-seven eight-two-three drops. It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat. It didn't seem right to use Guzub to make a robot that would compete with him and probably drive him out of business, so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties on usuform barkeeps."
(Read more about Anthony Boucher's usuform robot bartender)

Now, doughty researchers are working to improve imitation learning:

DropoutDAgger: A Bayesian Approach to Safe Imitation Learning

While imitation learning is becoming common practice in robotics, this approach often suffers from data mismatch and compounding errors. DAgger is an iterative algorithm that addresses these issues by continually aggregating training data from both the expert and novice policies, but does not consider the impact of safety. We present a probabilistic extension to DAgger, which uses the distribution over actions provided by the novice policy, for a given observation. Our method, which we call DropoutDAgger, uses dropout to train the novice as a Bayesian neural network that provides insight to its confidence. Using the distribution over the novice's actions, we estimate a probabilistic measure of safety with respect to the expert action, tuned to balance exploration and exploitation. The utility of this approach is evaluated on the MuJoCo HalfCheetah and in a simple driving experiment, demonstrating improved performance and safety compared to other DAgger variants and classic imitation learning.

Modern-day roboticists might be interested in Boucher's distinction between manlike robots and usuform robots.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/6/2017)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Artificial Intelligence ")

'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?' Miles Breuer, 1932

BibleGPT - King James Version Padre Booth, ala Philip K. Dick
Tell me your torments.

Missing Jet Finally Found
Ah, what could have been - still in the future.

Teslas Have Minds, Says Elon Musk
'The machine scans the patterns of the mind; ...Impress these same waves on a robot computer.' - Frederik Pohl, 1955.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'

Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'

Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'

Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'

'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'

NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?

Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'

Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'

Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'

Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'

San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'

Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'

Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'

Honda UNI-ONE Hands-Free Wheelchair Follows 100 Year-Old Design
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'

EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.'

Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.