Why big AI labs are hiring more philosophers

msn ^

[BenLurkin]

The rise of the artificial intelligence era is changing expectations about careers. While earlier, there were concerns that arts and humanities subjects would be more impacted, the trend appears to have shifted.

According to The Economist, AI companies are actively recruiting philosophers, sometimes even before graduation. This rise in recruitment of philosophers at AI companies is a result of the broader understanding that philosophy offers useful tools for AI development. There is a belief that AI training may be able to benefit from some of the ancient lessons of philosophy.

For instance, the Socratic method, developed in ancient Greece by Plato, encourages structured questioning to test ideas and uncover contradictions. According to The Economist, researcher Jörg Noller argued that this approach can help make AI systems less agreeable and more focused on truth, rather than simply pleasing users.

Another similar idea is that of the “Socratic ignorance.” In Plato's ‘Apology', Socrates says that true wisdom lies in knowing how little one knows. Experts are of the view that building this humility into AI systems could reduce their overconfidence. Iason Gabriel, a senior philosopher at Google DeepMind, an AI lab based in London, attributed an industry-wide decline in hallucinations to such efforts.

Philosophy can also shape how AI systems behave. Thomas Powers of the University of Delaware has argued that if an AI legal assistant is trained on John Locke's writings, it may place strong emphasis on property rights as part of political freedom.

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TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS:

[butlerweave]

AI is just code and they can make it do almost anything except make it smarter ,LOL

[frank ballenger]

RE: Hiring philosopher...

Lucrative work for Joy Reid, Hillary and Kamala.

Imagine the “garbage in/garbage out” tidal wave within AI after they start on the job.

[Leaning Right]

And now a word from some Prussian guy:

If all of the questions of philosophy were answered, nothing would be gained.
- Otto von Bismarck

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Rule Number One...

[Jonty30]

I am something of a philosopher myself.

[packagingguy]

There are a bunch of scams out there to become an AI trainer.

They want engineers, Ph.D.’s etc. to train their systems.

[PeterPrinciple]

trained on John Locke’s writings, it may place strong emphasis on property rights as part of political freedom.

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that might be ok..............

[ClearCase_guy]

I would like to see AI read great works by people such as Locke and Hobbes, etc. Throw in Karl Marx too. Then have the AI — which is really nothing but a logic processing machine — pass judgment on the material. How much truth was there in the writings of Karl Marx? How much logic? What actual, verified nuggets of truth can we glean from his work?

Perhaps a philosopher can help judge the quality of the AI’s work. But I’m guessing most philosophers who come out of today’s universities are not up to the task.

[The Duke]

..."the Socratic method, developed in ancient Greece by Plato, encourages structured questioning to test ideas and uncover contradictions."

I'm not sure about it's utility for testing ideas, but I have found that a great way to reveal core principles is to "look at the extreme case". I believe this approach was championed by one of America's early nuclear scientists, and through the years I've found it most helpful.

[Jonty30]

I can see philosophy being useful in ensuring that machine intelligence doesn’t eliminate the world when it is told to save the world.

Like Ultron of the Avengers.

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

The horribly skewed left wing AIs will spell it

Philislophical

[catnipman]

“Why big AI labs are hiring more philosophers”

because AI models freeze when asked: “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?”

[Fai Mao]

“Ninety percent of everything philosophers say is wrong, but the ten percent they get right explains ninety percent of everything”

~ Richard Rorty

[BipolarBob]

They need to hire me. I think great thoughts and philosophy every day. I’m a natural. Sometimes I’ll have a half dozen great thoughts before I get out of bed. I won’t be cheap but I’m available.

[DoodleBob]

https://work.mercor.com/explore

Attorney / Legal Expert (Real Estate / Energy) - AI Training Project

Hourly contract
Remote
New opportunity
$50-$150
per hour
Mercor logo
Posted by Mercor
mercor.com

Role Overview

Mercor is partnering with a leading AI organization to engage attorneys and legal professionals for a project focused on improving the legal reasoning of AI systems in energy and real property law. This flexible, contract-based engagement involves reviewing, annotating, and refining legal content drawn from documents such as leases, easements, conveyances, and interconnection agreements, helping make AI-generated legal analysis more accurate, clear, and useful.

Key Responsibilities

Review and annotate energy and real-property legal documents against detailed written instructions

Provide exhaustive, citation-backed determinations, citing the document, page, and verbatim text supporting each conclusion, with a clear natural-language explanation of your reasoning

Apply consistent legal judgment across many documents and flag ambiguities for senior review

Quality-check the work of other reviewers and help resolve disagreements (more senior contributors)

Collaborate with researchers to assess and improve model performance

Ideal Qualifications

JD from an ABA-accredited US law school, paralegal, or land/title professional

Active US bar license in good standing (for attorney-level roles)

Experience in real estate, energy, land use, or similar transactional practice

Comfortable reading leases, easements, deeds, and similar instruments independently

Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to locate and cite primary authority

Familiarity with energy projects (oil and gas, solar, wind, transmission) or wholesale power markets (e.g., RTOs/ISOs) a plus

We are hiring at three levels and will calibrate during screening:

Tier 1 (Specialist / Law Clerk)

Tier 2 (Associate / Senior Associate)

Tier 3 (Partner

[Army Air Corps]

Will they hire Stand-up Philosophers?

[Secret Agent Man]

I had some philosophy classes in college. Hiring philosophers will not make the AI smarter. It will make the AI want to do lots of drugs.

[henbane]

Philosophy can also shape how AI systems behave. Thomas Powers of the University of Delaware has argued that if an AI legal assistant is trained on John Locke's writings, it may place strong emphasis on property rights as part of political freedom.

How will Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophic system affect AI as the programs come to grips with the "Death of God' concept?