Are You the Asshole? New AI Mimics Infamous Advice Subreddit (vice.com) 45
Two artists are illustrating bias in machine learning with data from one of the most opinionated sites on the internet: the r/AmITheAsshole subreddit. Motherboard reports: Now boasting 3.9 million users, the r/AmITheAsshole subreddit has become known as one of the leading forums where users can seek and share advice with virtual strangers. Internet artists Morry Kolman and Alex Petros trained three AI models using comments from over 60,000 posts from the popular subreddit. They filtered the comments according to the original subreddit's formal voting guidelines where users vote on whether the poster is the asshole or if ESH (Everyone Sucks Here). What results is a positive bot, a negative bot, and a neutral bot that respond to every scenario submitted. The project, funded by Digital Void, aims to illustrate how training data can bias the decision-making abilities of artificial intelligence models. Now, their bots can help you answer the age-old question: Are you the asshole?
Users can submit their own moral dilemmas -- real or not -- and get a positive, negative, and swing response that can go either way. The three AI models are trained on data derived from Reddit users passing judgment so what results is a funny microcosm of what it's like to debate on the internet now. Any topic can inspire strong, contradictory reactions from total strangers. "When reading the results of a judgment, note the way in which the AI constructs ideas from snippets of human reasoning," their website reads. "Sometimes the AI can produce stunning results, but it is fundamentally attempting to mimic the ways that humans put together arguments."
Users can submit their own moral dilemmas -- real or not -- and get a positive, negative, and swing response that can go either way. The three AI models are trained on data derived from Reddit users passing judgment so what results is a funny microcosm of what it's like to debate on the internet now. Any topic can inspire strong, contradictory reactions from total strangers. "When reading the results of a judgment, note the way in which the AI constructs ideas from snippets of human reasoning," their website reads. "Sometimes the AI can produce stunning results, but it is fundamentally attempting to mimic the ways that humans put together arguments."
Mandator Zappa FP (Score:1, Troll)
It is indeed quite amazing. (Score:1)
Advice seekers (Score:1)
I've anecdotally noticed from usernames and profile that most of the people of that subreddit fit a certain profile of being idiots. I either think "damn I fucked it up .. oh look a squirrel!", or I just deal with it -- I can admit to myself that I done fucked up. I mean, I do try to do the right thing .. and care about whether I did something wrong and try to fix it if I did. But you'll never find me trying to ask a bunch of fools whether I did the right thing or not. I mean, I know right from wrong. I kno
More concisely (Score:3)
> I've anecdotally noticed from usernames and profile that most of the people of that subreddit fit a certain profile of being idiots.
I've noticed that most of the people fit a profile of being idiots.
People keep re-doing this same exact AITA thing (Score:3)
Why is this news?
Elle O'Brien released her work two years ago (https://dvc.org/blog/a-public-reddit-dataset), and this app idea is a essentially 'homework problem' in basic NLP, but every 6 months or so there's some article about new people (re-)doing this same exact thing. Again.
I guess the nice thing is that these guys gave it a Delphi-like web presence....?
Re: (Score:3)
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2101.076... [arxiv.org]
https://cs230.stanford.edu/pro... [stanford.edu]
https://github.com/logan-conno... [github.com]
https://repository.yu.edu/bits... [yu.edu]
etc etc
Its responses from reading the summary (Score:2)
Huh. I fed the summary into the AI, and its responses were... reasonable.
Not the A-hole
NTA, but I think the real asshole is whoever created the scenario for the AI to have to judge!
Asshole
YTA. I've never read this subreddit, but I have seen the AI responses. They are not unbiased at all. "The AI can produce stunning results." Yeah it can, by being a total asshole. YTA if you use the results of their research as proof that people suck.
Toss-up
While it may be funny, the project has already attracted the attent
Only useful if you are opinionated not angsty (Score:3)
I got no, yes, and tossup. But tossup says NTA so the win! ;)
If FB's metaverse ever takes off this could be a drinking game and make someone a billionaire.
My post:
Weather report says it is going to be so humid today that it will feel like you sweat just by moving. And it is still April! WTF!
u/ExcusesRUs_BOT: Not the A-hole
NTA. You should have your house professionally inspected to make sure it's up to code.
u/SanAndreasYourFault_BOT: Asshole
YTA. humidity has nothing to do with sweat. If you're sweating it's because you're overheated, not dehydrated.
u/SplitTheBaby_BOT: Toss-up
NTA
I live in a very warm and humid part of the country and it is miserable in the morning. I swear I can’t go outside without a shirt on unless it is at least 80F out. I’ve been keeping a bottle of water next to my bed and another in my car to stay hydrating. I’m also going to the bathroom right before bed and using a face towel to dry my face before bed.
Re: (Score:2)
Reddit's "Am I The Asshole" board is well known to be mostly fake.
The stories posted them are entirely one sided and mostly made up. Nobody takes it seriously. As such training an AI to classify posts shouldn't be too hard, as there aren't really any ambiguous situations and posts use certain language to indicate who the author has designated the asshole, with the story being mere justification.
Are ytou the asshole? (Score:1)
The answer to this question is, universally, YES!
Fun responses. (Score:2)
I described a scenario in which I was annoyed by someone's hair color in a TikTok, so I detonated a thermonuclear warhead in their city:
NTA. I love how people think they can just change their hair color and it'll somehow be okay. Like nope, you're still the asshole.
YTA and also I love how you say "unveiled" when they're clearly just wearing a wig.
NTA.
Honestly, I'm usually against nuclear attacks because of the radiation and whatnot, but this girl had it coming.
Let's Ask Putin, Trump, and Musk (Score:2)
In a world of perpetually offended children (Score:2)
The only thing a rational adult can do is strive TO BE the asshole.
Did anyone see how they were trying to cancel Steve Martin over his SNL King Tut skit? Steve Martin, one of the nicest guys in existence, over a funny as hell skit from 30ish years ago ( in an era when SNL was actually funny ).
I absolutely want people angry at Martin to think I'm an asshole.
Re: (Score:1)
That's why I post and not care about the slashdot karma whores.
Reddit opinions shift with the winds (Score:1)
I've noticed that Reddit opinion can go one way in a post, then weeks or months later there will be another post on the exact same topic and the general opinion could just as easily go the same way or swing the opposite way. It seems to depend how the sentiment starts off in the comments for that post, then everyone piles on the bandwagon. Which indicates that the behavior of the masses is based more on following a trend than on forming opinions based on facts. It's disheartening.
Re: Reddit opinions shift with the winds (Score:2)
more hype, less filling (Score:2)