Word
orthogonality
Phoneticsor·thog·o·nal·i·ty
Definition
n. independence between two qualities; in AI, the idea that a system can have very high intelligence while pursuing completely arbitrary goals.
n. geometric perpendicularity or mathematical independence; in AI theory, the thesis that an agent's capability level and its ultimate objective function can vary independently.
Examples
“The lines crossed at right angles, showing perfect geometric orthogonality.”
“The orthogonality thesis reminds us that a superintelligent AI will not automatically adopt human moral values.”
“In vector space representations, high-dimensional orthogonality allows thousands of nearly independent feature directions to coexist without disruptive interference.”
Examples
simple
“The lines crossed at right angles, showing perfect geometric orthogonality.”
contextual
“The orthogonality thesis reminds us that a superintelligent AI will not automatically adopt human moral values.”
complex
“In vector space representations, high-dimensional orthogonality allows thousands of nearly independent feature directions to coexist without disruptive interference.”
Real-World Examples
“In his paper “The Superintelligent Will”, Nick Bostrom formalised the Orthogonality thesis: the idea that the final goals and intelligence levels of artificial agents are independent of each other.” “The standard argument to the conclusion that artificial intelligence (AI) constitutes an existential risk for the human species uses two premises: (1) AI may reach superintelligent levels, at which point we humans lose control (the ‘singularity claim’); (2) Any level of intelligence can go along with any goal (the ‘orthogonality thesis’).” Etymology
From Greek orthos ('straight, right') + gonia ('angle'). Introduced by Nick Bostrom in 2012 as the 'Orthogonality Thesis' in AI safety.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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englishreference.com/q/orthogonality