The morality of abusing a robot

It is not uncommon for humans to exhibit abusive behaviour towards robots. This study compares how abusive behaviour towards a human is perceived differently in comparison with identical behaviour towards a robot. We showed participants 16 video clips of unparalleled quality that depicted different levels of violence and abuse. For each video, we asked participants to rate the moral acceptability of the action, the violence depicted, the intention to harm, and how abusive the action was. The results indicate no significant difference in the perceived morality of the actions shown in the videos across the two victim agents. When the agents started to fight back, their reactive aggressive behaviour was rated differently. Humans fighting back were seen as less immoral compared with robots fighting back. A mediation analysis showed that this was predominately due to participants perceiving the robot’s response as more abusive than the human’s response.

Minerály řady bavenit-bohseit z pegmatitu Schinderhübel I v Maršíkově (silezikum, Česká republika)

Bavenite and bohseite were found in an archive sample from Schinderhübel I granitic pegmatite, situated ca. 50 m NE from the famous chrysoberyl-bearing pegmatite body Schinderhübel III near Maršíkov (Silesicum, Czech Republic). Minerals of the bavenite-bohseite series together with minor quartz, muscovite and albite form chalky white radial aggregates up to 3.5 cm in size within a fissure cutting the pegmatite. The electron microprobe data revealed 29.0 - 65.4 mol. % of bavenite component, 0.03 - 0.12 apfu Na and 0.05 - 0.20 apfu F. Bavenite seems to be older than bohseite in the studied aggregate. The collected data suggest significant increase of Be/Al during growth of the studied aggregate, which could be explained in two ways. First, one can assume that different primary minerals with contrasting Be/Al ratios were dissolved during different stages of alteration (i.e., chrysoberyl in the early stage giving rise to bavenite-rich compositions and beryl during late stage giving rise to bohseite-rich members). Second, chemical fractionation of Be and Al due to complexation by fluoride anions is suggested from negative correlation between Al and F in the studied members of the bavenite-bohseite series. Identical behaviour is observed also in bavenite-bohseite from Piława Górna and Maršíkov D6e pegmatites, suggesting potential importance of fluoride complexation during hydrothermal stage of evolution of granitic pegmatites.

A Comparative Analysis of Expected and Distributional Reinforcement Learning

Since their introduction a year ago, distributional approaches to reinforcement learning (distributional RL) have produced strong results relative to the standard approach which models expected values (expected RL). However, aside from convergence guarantees, there have been few theoretical results investigating the reasons behind the improvements distributional RL provides. In this paper we begin the investigation into this fundamental question by analyzing the differences in the tabular, linear approximation, and non-linear approximation settings. We prove that in many realizations of the tabular and linear approximation settings, distributional RL behaves exactly the same as expected RL. In cases where the two methods behave differently, distributional RL can in fact hurt performance when it does not induce identical behaviour. We then continue with an empirical analysis comparing distributional and expected RL methods in control settings with non-linear approximators to tease apart where the improvements from distributional RL methods are coming from.

Occurrence of non-western magic in the European brain

ABSTRACTTimecourses that exhibit identical behaviour at distinct measurement occasions are reliable. Voodoo connectivity occurs when connectivity among brain regions exceeds within subject timecourse reliability. Thus, timecourse reliability limits the true detectable connectivity. We reproduced a working memory related connectome consisting of 561 paths obtained from 67 individuals. We tested >100000 fc-MRI pipelines and show that Savitzky Golay (SG) filters maximize true connectivity while conserving cognitively relevant changes of signals. This is noteworthy for approaches that focus on rapidly changing aspects of connectomes. Furthermore, SG filters detect zombie activity. These “resting state oscillations” are not under human control and contaminate working state signals. SPM pipelines exhibit more voodoo connectivity than SG pipelines. With the SPM pipeline, we observed a connectivity of r=0.44 and a poor true connectivity of r=0.23, but with the SG pipeline we observed a connectivity of r=0.59 and a fair true connectivity of r=0.43. The number of paths detected with fair true connectivity (r >0.4) was 4 for the SPM pipeline but 352 for the SG based pipeline. However, superior statistical properties of SG pipelines may not reflect neural reality. Hence, causal external validation of fc-MRI pipelines is crucial. Without such studies, different pipelines produce at best “alternative maps”.

A comparison of overshoot modelling with observations of polar mesospheric summer echoes at radar frequencies of 56 and 224 MHz

We have compared radar observations of polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs) modulated by artificial electron heating, at frequencies of 224 MHz (EISCAT VHF) and 56 MHz (MORRO). We have concentrated on 1 day of observation, lasting ~ 3.8 h. The MORRO radar, with its much wider beam, observes one or more PMSE layers all the time while the VHF radar observes PMSEs in 69% of the time. Statistically there is a clear difference between how the MORRO and the VHF radar backscatter reacts to the heater cycling (48 s heater on and 168 s heater off). While MORRO often reacts by having its backscatter level increased when the heater is switched on, as predicted by Scales and Chen (2008), the VHF radar nearly always sees the "normal" VHF overshoot behaviour with an initial rapid reduction of backscatter. However, in some heater cycles we do see a substantial recovery of the VHF backscatter after its initial reduction to levels several times above that just before the heater was switched on. For the MORRO radar a recovery during the heater-on phase is much more common. The reaction when the heater was switched off was a clear overshoot for nearly all VHF cases but less so for MORRO. A comparison of individual curves for the backscatter values as a function of time shows, at least for this particular day, that in high layers above ~ 85 km height, both radars see a reduction of the backscatter as the heater is switched on, with little recovery during the heater-on time. These variations are well described by present models. On the other hand, the backscatter in low layers at 81–82 km can be quite different, with modest or no reduction in backscatter as the heater is switched on, followed by a strong recovery for both radars to levels several times above that of the undisturbed PMSEs. This simultaneous, nearly identical behaviour at the two very different radar frequencies is not well described by present modelling.

Why change the subject?

This paper reports on a study of syntactic changes in alternative translations of a short story and a scientific article, each translated by a group of ten professional translators. The subject is kept in approximately nine cases out of ten, with a somewhat higher degree of change in the scientific article. Where changes occur, they can very often be traced to differences between the languages on the lexical or syntactic level, but absolute differences signalled by identical behaviour of a whole translator group are as good as non-existent. After more features have been studied, it may be possible to identify profiles for the individual translators—and the two translator groups—showing to what extent their choices are guided by adequacy in relation to the source text vs. acceptability in relation to the target language.

Microstructure of Spent MOX Fuel Stored Under Dry Air for 25 Years

In this paper, some results of microstructure analyses on spent MOX fuel with burnup of about 20 GWd/tM, stored for an extended period, are presented. The samples are taken from fuel that has been stored for 25 years either in intact cladding or exposed to dry air. The results of this investigation are compared to the microstructure observations made in the post-irradiation campaign, conducted on the same or sibling fuel rods shortly after reactor unloading (i.e. about twenty years ago). The fuel from the long term stored intact rods demonstrated an identical behaviour, compared to its state shortly after reactor unloading. Segments of fuel rods that were exposed to dry air showed an alteration of the grain boundary cohesion of the UO2 grains, while apparently the Pu-rich zones were unaffected. These findings are coherent with the results found in accelerated ageing experiments. On the other hand, the formation of secondary phases with higher oxidation states of uranium, often observed during accelerated ageing experiments, could not be confirmed here.

Etude par spectroscopie infrarouge de l'ion diacétylacétylium. Rôle de AlCl3, AlBr3 et GaCl3 sur sa formation et sa structure. Mise en évidence d'une liaison hydrogène intramoléculaire dans le tétrachloroaluminate de diacétylacétylium

The study of the reaction of formation of the diacetoacetylium ion from CH3COX (X = Cl or Br) and the Lewis acids AlCl3, AlBr3, and GaCl3 shows that the counterion is always the tetrahalogenometallate. In the solid tetrachloroaluminate the cation is a monomer with a double minimum type of intramolecular hydrogen bond: v O—H—O = v O—D—O = 1400 cm−1; d O—O = 2.48 Å. An identical behaviour is observed with the tetrabromoaluminate, but the structure of the diacetoacetylium sstetrachlorogallate is more complicated.

Some Observations on Psychopathy

There is no convincing evidence to support the view that antisocial behaviour can be accounted for by reference to concepts such as learning defect, immaturity or lack of moral fibre. The criminal displays behaviour towards authorities identical to that displayed by a patriot in an occupied country towards the enemy. This identical behaviour, it is asserted by some, shows in the one case instability, cowardice, lack of resolve and in the other case, stability, courage, resolve and strength of will. These statements reveal the attitudes and bias of the observer without illuminating the situation of the observed. It is more relevant to examine what the psychopath has learned and the conditions in which his learning took place than to pursue enquiries aimed at demonstrating a learning defect. The human being is born without the attitudes, beliefs and sentiments towards e.g. property, sexual object etc., which are necessary for his successful incorporation into his ongoing social group. It is the intention of society's socializing agents, the family and the school, to inculcate in the developing human being these necessary attitudes, sentiments and beliefs. Psychopathic personalities are the consequence of the socializing process gone wrong. This paper describes the types of psychopath together with the learning situations which brought them about. The implications for treatment programs are examined.