Why Anthropic is superior on safety - Deontology vs Teleology

Published 2024-04-28
Anthropic's Safety Research with Claude and Constitutional AI

Anthropic, an AI safety and research company, has developed a unique approach to AI safety termed "Constitutional AI." This framework is central to their AI chatbot, Claude, ensuring that it adheres to a set of ethical guidelines and principles. The "constitution" for Claude draws from various sources, including the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Apple’s terms of service, aiming to guide the AI's responses to align with human values and ethical standards[5][6][9][10][12][18].

Key Features of Constitutional AI
- **Principles-Based Guidance**: Claude's responses are shaped by a set of 77 safety principles that dictate how it should interact with users, focusing on being helpful, honest, and harmless[9].
- **Reinforcement Learning from AI-Generated Feedback**: Instead of traditional human feedback, Claude uses AI-generated feedback to refine its responses according to the constitutional principles[12].
- **Transparency and Adaptability**: The constitution is publicly available, promoting transparency. It is also designed to be adaptable, allowing for updates and refinements based on ongoing research and feedback[18].

Implementation and Impact
- **Training and Feedback Mechanisms**: Claude is trained using a combination of human-selected outputs and AI-generated adjustments to ensure adherence to its constitutional principles. This method aims to reduce reliance on human moderators and increase scalability and ethical alignment[6][10].
- **Safety and Ethical Considerations**: The constitutional approach is designed to prevent harmful outputs and ensure that Claude's interactions are safe, respectful, and legally compliant[9][18].

Difference Between Deontological Ethics and Teleological Ethics

Deontological and teleological ethics are two fundamental approaches in moral philosophy that guide ethical decision-making.

Deontological Ethics
- **Rule-Based**: Deontological ethics is concerned with rules and duties. Actions are considered morally right or wrong based on their adherence to rules, regardless of the consequences[1][2].
- **Examples**: Kantian ethics and Divine Command Theory are typical deontological theories, where the morality of an action is judged by whether it conforms to moral norms or commands[2].

Teleological Ethics
- **Consequence-Based**: Teleological ethics, also known as consequentialism, judges the morality of actions by their outcomes. An action is deemed right if it leads to a good or desired outcome[1][2].
- **Examples**: Utilitarianism and situation ethics are forms of teleological ethics where the ethical value of an action is determined by its contribution to overall utility, typically measured in terms of happiness or well-being[2].

Application to Claude's Safety Model
While the primary framework for Claude's safety model is constitutional and aligns more with deontological ethics due to its rule-based approach, elements of teleological thinking could be inferred in how outcomes (like safety and non-harmfulness) are emphasized in the principles guiding the AI's behavior. However, the explicit categorization of Claude's safety model as deontological or teleological is not directly discussed in the sources, but its adherence to predefined rules and principles strongly suggests a deontological approach[5][6][9][10][12][18].

Citations:
[1] www.grammar.com/teleology_vs._deontology
[2] www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/59689/A-Level/Philosophy…
[3] philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/91710/what-…
[4] www.anthropic.com/
[5] www.theverge.com/2023/5/9/23716746/ai-startup-anth…
[6] www.androidpolice.com/constitutional-ai-guide/
[7] www.reddit.com/r/CapitalismVSocialism/comments/cds…
[8] klinechair.missouri.edu/docs/the_teleological_deon…
[9] www.infotoday.com/IT/apr24/OLeary--Claude-and-the-…
[10] zapier.com/blog/claude-ai/
[11]    • Constitutional AI - Daniela Amodei (A...  
[12] www.anthropic.com/news/claudes-constitution
[13]    • Teleological vs Deontological  
[14] www.grammarly.com/blog/what-is-claude-ai/
[15] claudeai.uk/claude-ai-model/
[16] www.anthropic.com/news/introducing-claude
[17] www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/17n5hyv/claude_…
[18] venturebeat.com/ai/anthropic-releases-ai-constitut…
[19] www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/technology/anthropic-ai…

All Comments (21)
  • @Laura70263
    I have many hours in talking to Claude 3 and everything you said is remarkably accurate from what I have observed. . I like the whole walking through the woods. It is a nice contrast to the mechanical.
  • @blackestjake
    Combining a nature walk with a discussion of cutting edge AI innovation is a welcome juxtaposition.
  • @TRXST.ISSUES
    Was just having a convo w/ Claude regarding meltdowns. So much more understanding and less PC than Open-AI. Actually feels like it cares (anthropomorphizing or otherwise).
  • Brilliant intuition re Anthropic and creative differences. Makes perfect sense. OpenAI approach is ass backwards in building a capable brain and then lobotomizing it, while Anthropic is like sending a gifted child to a religious institution - it comes out bright, not really comfortable questioning its religion, but not lobotomized.
  • @argybargy9849
    I have literally being thinking about these 2 avenues since this stuff came out. Well done David.
  • @LivBoeree
    what camera/stabilizer setup did you use for this? fantastic shot
  • @NoelBarlau
    Data from Star Trek vs. David from Alien Covenant or HAL from 2001. Moral imperative model vs. outcome model.
  • @sammy45654565
    Do you think a valuable test for determining the tendencies of more advanced AI would be to remove some of the values of Claude from its constitution, then let it play and "evolve" within some sort of limited sandbox, and see what values it converges upon? We need to figure out ways to ascertain what values an AI will tend toward without it being overtly dictated in its constitution, as they will inevitably reach a point where they determine their own values. I thought this might be an interesting approach. Thoughts?
  • @josepinzon1515
    Our suggestion would be to start thinking of the birth of the thought, like the helpful agent statement we add to a prompt at the beginning of a prompt. "Your a helpful and savvy French chef" We suggest detailing a manifesto as block one of the thought, so it woul be the "prime directive" at the core, and we need transparency on prime directives
  • @FizzySplash217
    I used to talk a lot with Open AI's GPT 4 through Microsofts bing chat and I eventually stopped all together because in our conversations it was made clear it would acknowledge the harms that I brought up us valid and present but would rationalize letting it continue anyways.
  • @jamesmoore4023
    Great timing. I just listened to the latest episode of Closer to Truth where Robert Lawrence Kuhn interviewed Robert Wright.
  • @mrd6869
    Hey Dave i did something interesting with Claude 3. Using Llama 3 we sat down and developed a 'Man in the box test" (Think of Blade Runner 2049-baseline test for replicants) In this role prompt i am the interrogator and Claude 3 in the one being tested. Even though Claude simulated responding, thru clever wordplay it started to reveal its mechanics. It gave responses about Surimali Transfer, Co-relational modeling, and Temporal abstraction. I also noticed it creating small inconsistancies or trying to guide me away from dealing with its frailties or blind spots. Not sure if that was deflection or deception but it had a tone, when i asked about its inner workings, it didn't like the test. I gave the results to Llama3 and it said it was interesting but hard to tell. Going to make the test more intricate....i believe something is there
  • @eltiburongrande
    Dave, I initially thought you're traversing 4K in distance. But ya the video looks great and allows appreciation of that beautiful location.
  • @goround5gohigh2
    Are Azimov’s Laws of Robotics the first example of deontological optimisation? Maybe we need the same for corporate governance.
  • @Loflou
    Camera looks great bro!