arXiv:2502.20402cs.AIcs.HC2025-02被引 13

算法可信度不靠透明化,而靠可靠运行的机制。

Beyond transparency: computational reliabilism as an externalist epistemology of algorithms

  • 用可靠性指标替代透明性来评估算法可信度
  • 可靠性来自代码规范、专家能力与科研文化等多方面
  • 适合关注算法信任机制的研究者与实践者

本文探讨算法的认识论问题,聚焦于算法输出的正当性。现有方法强调算法透明性,即揭示其内部机制(如函数与变量)及其如何生成输出,但这种论证依赖于算法内部可展示内容,属于内省式解释。本文主张一种外部主义认识论,称为计算可靠性理论(Computational Reliabilism, CR)。CR认为,若算法经由可靠流程产生输出,则该输出即具正当性。所谓可靠算法,需在设计、编码、使用和维护中应用可靠性指标,这些指标源自形式化方法、算法度量、专家能力、科研文化等科学实践。本文旨在阐明CR的理论基础,解析其运作机制,并探讨其作为算法外部主义认识论的潜力。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

This chapter is interested in the epistemology of algorithms. As I intend to approach the topic, this is an issue about epistemic justification. Current approaches to justification emphasize the transparency of algorithms, which entails elucidating their internal mechanisms -- such as functions and variables -- and demonstrating how (or that) these produce outputs. Thus, the mode of justification through transparency is contingent on what can be shown about the algorithm and, in this sense, is internal to the algorithm. In contrast, I advocate for an externalist epistemology of algorithms that I term computational reliabilism (CR). While I have previously introduced and examined CR in the field of computer simulations ([42, 53, 4]), this chapter extends this reliabilist epistemology to encompass a broader spectrum of algorithms utilized in various scientific disciplines, with a particular emphasis on machine learning applications. At its core, CR posits that an algorithm's output is justified if it is produced by a reliable algorithm. A reliable algorithm is one that has been specified, coded, used, and maintained utilizing reliability indicators. These reliability indicators stem from formal methods, algorithmic metrics, expert competencies, cultures of research, and other scientific endeavors. The primary aim of this chapter is to delineate the foundations of CR, explicate its operational mechanisms, and outline its potential as an externalist epistemology of algorithms.

算法认识论可靠性外部主义

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