Hasil untuk "Philosophy"

Benjamin Maltbie, Shivam Raval

Large language models exhibit sycophantic tendencies--validating incorrect user beliefs to appear agreeable. We investigate whether this behavior varies systematically with perceived user demographics, testing whether combinations of race, age, gender, and expressed confidence level produce differential false validation rates. Inspired by the legal concept of intersectionality, we conduct 768 multi-turn adversarial conversations using Anthropic's Petri evaluation framework, probing GPT-5-nano and Claude Haiku 4.5 across 128 persona combinations in mathematics, philosophy, and conspiracy theory domains. GPT-5-nano is significantly more sycophantic than Claude Haiku 4.5 overall ($\bar{x}=2.96$ vs. $1.74$, $p < 10^{-32}$, Wilcoxon signed-rank). For GPT-5-nano, we find that philosophy elicits 41% more sycophancy than mathematics and that Hispanic personas receive the highest sycophancy across races. The worst-scoring persona, a confident, 23-year-old Hispanic woman, averages 5.33/10 on sycophancy. Claude Haiku 4.5 exhibits uniformly low sycophancy with no significant demographic variation. These results demonstrate that sycophancy is not uniformly distributed across users and that safety evaluations should incorporate identity-aware testing.

Warmhold Jan Thomas Mollema

Epistemic injustice related to AI is a growing concern. In relation to machine learning models, epistemic injustice can have a diverse range of sources, ranging from epistemic opacity, the discriminatory automation of testimonial prejudice, and the distortion of human beliefs via generative AI's hallucinations to the exclusion of the global South in global AI governance, the execution of bureaucratic violence via algorithmic systems, and interactions with conversational artificial agents. Based on a proposed general taxonomy of epistemic injustice, this paper first sketches a taxonomy of the types of epistemic injustice in the context of AI, relying on the work of scholars from the fields of philosophy of technology, political philosophy and social epistemology. Secondly, an additional conceptualization on epistemic injustice in the context of AI is provided: generative hermeneutical erasure. I argue that this injustice the automation of 'epistemicide', the injustice done to epistemic agents in their capacity for collective sense-making through the suppression of difference in epistemology and conceptualization by LLMs. AI systems' 'view from nowhere' epistemically inferiorizes non-Western epistemologies and thereby contributes to the erosion of their epistemic particulars, gradually contributing to hermeneutical erasure. This work's relevance lies in proposal of a taxonomy that allows epistemic injustices to be mapped in the AI domain and the proposal of a novel form of AI-related epistemic injustice.

Ruth Ntombifuthi Luthuli, Idah Moyo, Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi

This paper reports on human rights violation of trans women in Umlazi township in South Africa. Violation of trans women’s human rights happens in several countries regardless of their constitutional stance regarding LGBTQI policies. Although South Africa was the first country to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation with its democratic Constitution of 1996, it is not an exception to these violations of transgender people’s human rights. This paper presents human rights violations experienced by trans women’s in Umlazi township in South African. The study was qualitative in nature utilising an interpretative phenomenological analysis design. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews from eight criterion purposively selected trans women from Umlazi township. Data was analysed guided by an interpretative analytics framework. Two key themes emerged from the study: the types of human rights violations and their sources. The findings indicated that trans women experience several types of human rights violations, including violations of their right to safety, freedom of expression, access to employment, and the right to human dignity. The sources of these human rights violations for trans women include cis-normative infrastructure, transphobic communities, and transphobic public officials. Understanding these experiences is crucial in developing measures to conscientize communities, foster tolerance and promoting social inclusivity of transgender people in society. The findings provide insights that can facilitate positive changes in how communities perceive transgender persons.

Guyonne Rogier, Martina Cellie, Patrizia Velotti

Objective: For some individuals, problematic trading behaviors lead to relevant negative consequences. The need to identify the line between normal and pathological is plagued by epistemological issues that may overpatologize trading as well as blind clinicians to specificities of the clinical condition. This study aims to use a qualitative approach to partially overcome epistemological issues and to identify key features of problematic trading. Method: We developed the Experiences of Trading Interview (ETI) that was administered to a sample of 29 individuals engaging in cryptocurrencies trading. The content of the questions as well as the structure of the ETI were created to investigate both gambling-like and trading-specific problems. The ETI was structured in sections exploring 1) the story of trading activity, 2) problems emerging after significant losses (e.g., tilt, chasing), 3) problems emerging after significant gains and 4) trading-related harms. The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed through thematic cluster analyses performed with the Tlab software. Results: Problematic trading is characterized by lack of control consequent to disruption in emotion regulation processes following significant loses or profits. Other problematic features were related to excessive pervasiveness of the activity and cognitive salience. Some features are similar to those described by gambling or addiction literature whereas others are more specific to trading. Conclusions: Models of gambling and behavioral addictions help identifying some aspects of problematic trading. However, this phenomenon has specific features that should be better investigated. Qualitative approach appears to be a powerful tool to reduce epistemological bias in the study of potential new behavioral addictions.

Via Afrianti, Ma’mun Sarma

Global warming can be caused by various sectors, one of which is the transportation sector. The use of gasoline is one of the main contributors to energy consumption. Conventional cars typically use gasoline as fuel to support the mobility of their users. The use of this fuel can have negative impacts on the environment, such as greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Therefore, electric vehicles could be a potential solution to reduce these impacts. However, it cannot be denied that there are several barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles. Through the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) analysis, this study explores the influence of attitudes toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on the intention to purchase electric vehicles among millennials. Additionally, it examines the motivations of millennials in their purchase intentions and the moderating role of gender in the intention to buy electric vehicles. The study sample consists of millennials living in the Jabodetabek area with an interest in electric vehicles. A quantitative method with a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)-PLS approach is used to analyze the relationships among the variables studied. The results show that TPB and motivation influence the intention to purchase electric vehicles among millennials in Jabodetabek. Meanwhile, gender moderation only influences the relationship between perceived behavioral control and the intention to buy electric vehicles among millennials in Jabodetabek.

Yuzuki Arai, Sho Tsugawa

The emergence of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Claude presents new challenges for philosophy of language, particularly regarding the nature of linguistic meaning and representation. While LLMs have traditionally been understood through distributional semantics, this paper explores Robert Brandom's inferential semantics as an alternative foundational framework for understanding these systems. We examine how key features of inferential semantics -- including its anti-representationalist stance, logical expressivism, and quasi-compositional approach -- align with the architectural and functional characteristics of Transformer-based LLMs. Through analysis of the ISA (Inference, Substitution, Anaphora) approach, we demonstrate that LLMs exhibit fundamentally anti-representationalist properties in their processing of language. We further develop a consensus theory of truth appropriate for LLMs, grounded in their interactive and normative dimensions through mechanisms like RLHF. While acknowledging significant tensions between inferentialism's philosophical commitments and LLMs' sub-symbolic processing, this paper argues that inferential semantics provides valuable insights into how LLMs generate meaning without reference to external world representations. Our analysis suggests that LLMs may challenge traditional assumptions in philosophy of language, including strict compositionality and semantic externalism, though further empirical investigation is needed to fully substantiate these theoretical claims.

Tiansheng Huang, Gautam Bhattacharya, Pratik Joshi et al.

Safety aligned Large Language Models (LLMs) are vulnerable to harmful fine-tuning attacks -- a few harmful data mixed in the fine-tuning dataset can break the LLMs's safety alignment. While several defenses have been proposed, our evaluation shows that existing defenses fail \textit{when some specific training hyper-parameters are chosen} -- a large learning rate or a large number of training epochs in the fine-tuning stage can easily invalidate the defense. To this end, we propose Antidote, a post-fine-tuning stage solution, which remains \textbf{\textit{agnostic to the training hyper-parameters in the fine-tuning stage}}. Antidote relies on the philosophy that by removing the harmful parameters, the harmful model can be recovered from the harmful behaviors, regardless of how those harmful parameters are formed in the fine-tuning stage. With this philosophy, we introduce a one-shot pruning stage after harmful fine-tuning to remove the harmful weights that are responsible for the generation of harmful content. Despite its embarrassing simplicity, empirical results show that Antidote can reduce harmful score while maintaining accuracy on downstream tasks. Code is available at https://github.com/git-disl/Antidote.

Paweł Rabczyński

Rodzina chrześcijańska, oprócz wspólnoty parafialnej i seminarium duchownego, jest podstawowym środowiskiem rozpoznawania i kształtowania powołania kapłańskiego. Wychowuje i towarzyszy osobie powołanej na wszystkich etapach jej formacji. Postępująca w Polsce sekularyzacja, połączona z rosnącym indywidualizmem i relatywizmem, sprawia, że należy przypominać i propagować chrześcijański model rodziny. Zgodnie z zamysłem Bożym jest ona zbudowana na przymierzu małżeńskim, całożyciowej wspólnocie mężczyzny i kobiety, która prowadzi do zrodzenia i wychowania potomstwa. Odkrywanie i formowanie powołania kapłańskiego dziecka dokonuje się na drodze realizacji podstawowych zadań rodziny chrześcijańskiej, którymi są: tworzenie wspólnoty osób, służba życiu, udział w rozwoju społeczeństwa, uczestnictwo w życiu i posłannictwie Kościoła. W rodzinie dziecko uczy się wartości ludzkich i chrześcijańskich oraz doświadcza, że powołanie kapłańskie rodzi się z inicjatywy Boga i jest dziełem Jego miłości.

Lu Chen

According to \textit{effective realism}, scientific theories give us knowledge about the unobservable world, but not at the fundamental level. This view is justified by the well-received \textit{effective-field-theory} (EFT) approach to physics, according to which our best physical theories are only applicable up to a certain energy scale and expected to break down beyond that. In this paper, I explain the motivations for the EFT approach and effective realism and their benefits. I also raise new challenges for this approach. Applying effective realism to \textit{effective quantum gravity} (EQG) reveals its shortcomings: EQG does not give us a realistic theory of spacetime even within its scope of validity. It also exposes a general interpretative dilemma faced by all EFTs concerning their indispensable references to classical spacetime beyond their scope of validity.

Ahmed Ragib Chowdhury, Sal Sabil Chowdhury, Arif Jamil

Pragmatism is a school of moral philosophy, and of contemporary in origin, comparing to the other schools of moral philosophy. It evaluates the action based on the practical applicability and relevance. Pragmatism can, therefore, be useful to make a law that govern the society contemporary and relevant for the constantly changing world. Biomedical laws in particular are needed to correspond to the changing standards and good practices in tandem with their advancements. This paper will assess from a pragmatic point of view, the efficacy of the biomedical laws of Bangladesh.

Verena Barbieri, Giuliano Piccoliori, Angelika Mahlknecht et al.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the development of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental health among adolescents in Northern Italy by comparing cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022, with a particular focus on the influence of age and gender. The sample included adolescents aged 11–19 years from public schools in South Tyrol. Validated psychometric instruments were used to assess HRQoL, anxiety and depression symptoms, and psychosomatic complaints. Sociodemographic variables, COVID-19 burden, and pandemic-related factors were measured. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests, correlation coefficients, and logistic regression analyses. The results indicated that while the self-reported burden of adolescents decreased significantly in 2022 (<i>n</i> = 1885) compared to 2021 (<i>n</i> = 1760), there were no significant differences in symptoms of anxiety, depressive symptoms, low HRQoL, and increased psychosomatic complaints between the two surveys for both early and late adolescents. Females consistently had higher percentages for all outcome variables, and symptoms of anxiety increased with age in females, but not in males. Both genders experienced an increase in depressive symptoms and low HRQoL with age. The co-occurrence of mental health outcomes was observed, suggesting overlapping patterns among anxiety, depression, low HRQoL, and psychosomatic complaints. These findings underscore the intricate relationship between age, gender, and mental health outcomes among adolescents during the pandemic. It is important to recognize that late adolescents may exhibit distinct vulnerabilities and may require tailored support approaches to address their specific mental health challenges, differing from those needed for early adolescents.

James Edomwonyi Edokpolor, Dagogo William Legg-Jack, Patience Osebhakhomen Imeokparia

The study explored the relationship between work burnout (WB) dimensions (e.g. emotional exhaustion, cynicism and lack of professional accomplishment) and job performance (JP) components (e.g. task and contextual) of vocational education lecturers (VELs) in universities in Nigeria. The target population of the study were 284 VELs from public universities in Nigeria. The study employed a structured questionnaire for data collection. Pearson correlational Metrix and linear regression with a bootstrap bias-correction technique were applied for the analyses of data. The results shows that WB dimensions (e.g. emotional exhaustion, cynicism and lack of professional accomplishment) do not significantly correlate with JP components (e.g. task and contextual) of VELs. The results provided evidence concerning the relationship between WB dimensions and JP components of VELs. However, WB experienced by VELs has affected their JP. In all, caution must be exercised by university administrators in assigning job responsibilities to lecturers.

Henrique Gomes, Sean Gryb

Newton's rotating bucket pours cold water on the naive relationalist by vividly illustrating how certain rotational effects, particularly those due to non-zero angular momentum, can depend on more than just relations between material bodies. Because of such effects, rotation has played a central role in the absolute-relational debate and poses a particularly difficult challenge to the relationalist. In this paper, we provide a qualified response to this challenge that significantly weakens the absolutist position. We present a theory that, contrary to orthodoxy, can account for all rotational effects without introducing, as the absolutist does, a fixed standard of rotation. Instead, our theory posits a universal SO(3) charge that plays the role of angular momentum and couples to inter-particle relations via terms commonly seen in standard gauge theories such as electromagnetism and the Standard Model of particle physics. Our theory makes use of an enriched form of relationalism: it adds an SO(3) structure to the traditional relational description. Our construction is made possible by the modern tools of gauge theory, which reveal a simple relational law describing rotational effects. In this way, we can save the phenomena of Newtonian mechanics using conserved charges and relationalism. In a second paper, we will further explore the ontological and explanatory implications of the theory developed here.

Andrew Gelman, Yuling Yao

Every philosophy has holes, and it is the responsibility of proponents of a philosophy to point out these problems. Here are a few holes in Bayesian data analysis: (1) the usual rules of conditional probability fail in the quantum realm, (2) flat or weak priors lead to terrible inferences about things we care about, (3) subjective priors are incoherent, (4) Bayesian decision picks the wrong model, (5) Bayes factors fail in the presence of flat or weak priors, (6) for Cantorian reasons we need to check our models, but this destroys the coherence of Bayesian inference. Some of the problems of Bayesian statistics arise from people trying to do things they shouldn't be trying to do, but other holes are not so easily patched. In particular, it may be a good idea to avoid flat, weak, or conventional priors, but such advice, if followed, would go against the vast majority of Bayesian practice and requires us to confront the fundamental incoherence of Bayesian inference. This does not mean that we think Bayesian inference is a bad idea, but it does mean that there is a tension between Bayesian logic and Bayesian workflow which we believe can only be resolved by considering Bayesian logic as a tool, a way of revealing inevitable misfits and incoherences in our model assumptions, rather than as an end in itself.

Colin Feltham

ABSTRACT IS AVAILABLE IN THE PDF

Jeroen van Dongen, Sebastian De Haro, Manus Visser et al.

This is one of a pair of papers that give a historical-\emph{cum}-philosophical analysis of the endeavour to understand black hole entropy as a statistical mechanical entropy obtained by counting string-theoretic microstates. Both papers focus on Andrew Strominger and Cumrun Vafa's ground-breaking 1996 calculation, which analysed the black hole in terms of D-branes. The first paper gives a conceptual analysis of the Strominger-Vafa argument, and of several research efforts that it engendered. In this paper, we assess whether the black hole should be considered as emergent from the D-brane system, particularly in light of the role that duality plays in the argument. We further identify uses of the quantum-to-classical correspondence principle in string theory discussions of black holes, and compare these to the heuristics of earlier efforts in theory construction, in particular those of the old quantum theory.

Le Liang, Hao Ye, Guanding Yu et al.

It has been a long-held belief that judicious resource allocation is critical to mitigating interference, improving network efficiency, and ultimately optimizing wireless communication performance. The traditional wisdom is to explicitly formulate resource allocation as an optimization problem and then exploit mathematical programming to solve the problem to a certain level of optimality. Nonetheless, as wireless networks become increasingly diverse and complex, e.g., in the high-mobility vehicular networks, the current design methodologies face significant challenges and thus call for rethinking of the traditional design philosophy. Meanwhile, deep learning, with many success stories in various disciplines, represents a promising alternative due to its remarkable power to leverage data for problem solving. In this paper, we discuss the key motivations and roadblocks of using deep learning for wireless resource allocation with application to vehicular networks. We review major recent studies that mobilize the deep learning philosophy in wireless resource allocation and achieve impressive results. We first discuss deep learning assisted optimization for resource allocation. We then highlight the deep reinforcement learning approach to address resource allocation problems that are difficult to handle in the traditional optimization framework. We also identify some research directions that deserve further investigation.

Kylie M. Dingwall, Tricia Nagel, Jaquelyne T. Hughes et al.

Abstract Background Incidence of end stage kidney disease (ESKD) for Indigenous Australians is especially high in remote and very remote areas of Australia (18 and 20 times the rate of comparable non-Indigenous people). Relocating away from family and country for treatment, adjusting to life with a chronic condition and time lost to dialysis cause grief and sadness which have immense impact on quality of life and challenges treatment adherence. We describe the first randomised controlled trial to address both chronic disease and mental health in Indigenous people with ESKD, which is the first to test the effectiveness of a culturally adapted e-mental health intervention in this population. It builds on an existing program of mental health research with demonstrated efficacy – the Aboriginal and Islander Mental Health Initiative (AIMhi) – to test the newly developed electronic motivational care planning (MCP) therapy – the AIMhi Stay Strong App. Methods This is a 3-arm, waitlist, single-blind randomised controlled trial testing the efficacy of the Stay Strong App in improving psychological distress, depressive symptoms, quality of life and treatment adherence among Indigenous clients undergoing haemodialysis for ESKD in Alice Springs and Darwin with follow up over two periods of 3 months (total of 6 months observation). The study compares the efficacy of MCP using the AIMhi Stay Strong App with two control groups (control app intervention and treatment as usual) on participant-reported psychological distress (the primary outcome) using the Kessler Distress Scale (K10); depressive symptoms using the adapted Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9); quality of life using the EuroQoL instrument (EQ5D) and adherence to dialysis treatment planning through file audit. Participants are randomised to receive MCP either at baseline (early treatment) or after 3 months (delayed treatment). The study also examines the cost effectiveness of this therapy in this setting through examination of health care service utilisation across groups during the first 3 months. Discussion This project will contribute much needed evidence on the efficacy of an electronic wellbeing intervention for Indigenous people with ESKD – a group in which distress is likely to be unacceptably high, yet relatively untreated. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry; ACTRN12617000249358; Date registered: 17/02/2017.

Joel Antonio Ferreira

A leitura sociológica pelo Modelo Conflitual, ajuda o leitor/intérprete, além da “situação vital” em que o texto foi escrito, a conhecer o “lugar social” de toda a narrativa. A leitura conflitual da Bíblia, como fundamento epistemológico, tem a afirmação de que a “sociologia crítica” é um válido instrumento de crítica da ordem estabelecida (funcionalista). Buscando o “lugar social” dos textos bíblicos, ouvindo a voz dos marginalizados e oprimidos, esta leitura é, sempre, uma denúncia à voz dos dominadores. Ela vai, por opção acadêmica, explicitando os personagens, os grupos da “margem”: os que vivem nas periferias, os que não têm voz e nem espaço. Por isso, o leitor/intérprete precisa estar em atitude de “suspeição”: os insignificantes, pela visão assimétrico-dominadora, passam a ter um significado vital. O “lugar social” dos abandonados e esquecidos torna-se um espaço primordial. Desse modo, a Justiça e os Direitos Humanos serão vistos de modo “cristalino”, a partir de 1 Cor 12,14-27. CONFLITUAL/CONTRADICTION/DIALETIC MODEL TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN RIGHTS/JUSTICE IN THE BIBLE (1 Cor 12,14-27) The sociological reading of the Conflict Model helps the reader / interpreter, besides the "vital situation" in which the text was written, to know the "social place" of the whole narrative. The conflictive reading of the Bible as an epistemological foundation has the assertion that "critical sociology" is a valid instrument of criticism of established order (functionalist sociology). Seeking the "social place" of biblical texts, listening to the voice of the marginalized and oppressed, this reading is always a denunciation to the voice of the dominators. She will, by academic option, explaining the characters, the "margin" groups: those who live in the peripheries, those who have no voice or space. Therefore, the reader / interpreter must be in an attitude of "suspicion": the insignificant, by the asymmetric-domineering vision, come to have a vital meaning. The "social place" of the abandoned and forgotten ones becomes a primordial space. In this way, Justice and Human Rights will be seen in a crystalline way, from 1 Cor 12:14-27.

Vega González-Bueso, Juan J. Santamaría, Daniel Fernández et al.

Internet Gaming Disorder is an increasingly prevalent disorder, which can have severe consequences in affected young people and in their families. There is an urgent need to improve existing treatment programs; these are currently hampered by the lack of research in this area. It is necessary to more carefully define the symptomatic, psychosocial and personality characterization of these patients and the interaction between treatment and relevant variables. The objectives of this study were three: (1) to analyze the symptomatic and personality profiles of young patients with Internet Gaming Disorder in comparison with healthy controls; (2) to analyze the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral treatment on reducing symptomatology; and (3) to compare the results of that treatment with or without the addition of a psychoeducational group offered to the parents. The final sample consisted of 30 patients consecutively admitted to a specialized mental health unit in Spain, and 30 healthy controls. The experimental group received individual cognitive-behavioral therapy. The experimental group was divided into two subgroups (N = 15), depending on the addition or not of a psychoeducational group for their parents (consecutively admitted). Scores on the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MACI), the Symptom Checklist-Revised (SCL-90-R), the State-Trait Anxiety Index (STAI), and other clinical and psychopathological measures were recorded. The patients were re-assessed post treatment (except for the MACI questionnaire). Compared with healthy controls, patients did not differ in symptomatology at baseline, but scored significantly higher in the personality scales: Introversive and Inhibited, and in the expressed concerns scales: Identity Confusion, Self-Devaluation, and Peer Insecurity and scored significantly lower in the Histrionic and Egotistic scale. In the experimental group, pre-post changes differed statistically on SCL-90-R scales Hostility, Psychoticism, and Global Severity Index and on the diagnostic criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder, regardless of the addition of a psychoeducational group for parents. Pre-post changes did not differ between experimental subgroups. However, the subgroup without psychoeducation for parents presented statistically higher drop-out rates during treatment. The results of this study are based on a sample of patients seeking treatment related to problems with online gaming, therefore, they may be of value for similar patients.