An important contribution to the articles and magazines published for a more specific and important discourse community is the utilization of specific rhetoric that only those with a background or general idea of the subject will understand completely. When compared to a more general piece that includes rhetoric for a reader less adept with the circumstances within the professional field, the depth that the authors go into and the phrases the paper uses are dramatically different. Overall, the difference between a magazine on subjects in the S.T.E.M. field are more likely to display advanced ideas and words relating to the subject at hand, rather than its more general news counterparts.
Within the chosen articles into the worlds of artificial intelligence and the problem with garbage in the Pacific Ocean, it is easy to see the difference in the lexis used to illustrate and prove certain points. Additionally, the different word choice adapted to that of an already established community is very easy to see within the article pertaining to artificial intelligence. The article about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is relayed to an entirely different set of individuals but maintains some of the same ideas. When comparing these articles to some of the more generalized ones that would be posted by major news outlets, you see the difference in the amount of information given to you about topics that you should already know about. The article written by Amitai and Oren Etzioni talks about the implementation of AI (artificial intelligence) Guardians that “serve to verify that operational systems did not stray unduly from the guidelines of their programmers and to bring them back in compliance if they do stray” (Etzioni 29). These oversight systems would be a type of fail safe if the world of artificial intelligence started acting out or doing things that it was not created or programmed for. For this article to have an impact on the reader, it would require some sort of prior knowledge or background in the field of artificial intelligence. The language utilized in The First Law of Robotics (a call to arms), is vastly more complex than that found in the article. The language used in this professional study, not only relating to the use of letters in words, but as symbols and equations. For example, when talking about synthesizing safe plans, Etzioni and Weld write about how “it must iterate through every constraint dont-disturb(C) and every effect E of Ap, determining the conditions (if any) under which E violates C” (First Law of Robotics, 19). The difference between how the study and article are written forms a large gap between who would be able understand the study and the paper, and those who find it hard to follow the article alone. The author of the article and study, Oren Etzioni, is Professor Emeritus, University of Washington and helped pioneer meta-search, online comparison shopping, machine reading, and Open Information Extraction. His coauthor for the study, Daniel Weld, is a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. Together, these two have many years of experience and are well informed within the community of artificial intelligence.
Within the article cowritten by Amitai and Oren Etzioni, the sources and references that are used within the piece are hard to follow and do not add extra depth as a traditional source would. With the use of footnotes and links for websites, the application of the sources is hard to follow within the article. They do not give it as much depth as the reader would experience if it used real cited sources, like the references to certain studies and articles. Without the idea of what the websites are about, it allows for the reader to completely skip over the thought about what type of source it could be and receive the extra assistance with the sentence or idea at hand that they are intended for. When referring to an actual study or paper within the text, the authors use very straight forward subscripts to display what reference the idea or sentence was taken or originated from. These references can be used to further deepen the understanding of the article and how these sources are very helpful and pertinent to the information at hand. The availability of the references at the end of the article are the reason that it was possible to find the study to link the article to. Within this version of conversation about artificial intelligence, the ability to access the studies and research papers that the authors used to write the generic and easily read article, helps to deepen the understanding of the reader and to show the difference between how the article explains certain topics and how the study discusses them. Overall, the use of links for websites in footnotes added little to the paper and makes it harder for the reader to follow rather than if the authors would have included the actual citation.
Within the article Designing AI Systems that Obey Our Laws and Values, the authors decided to focus on the overarching idea of how artificial intelligence needs to be guided by itself. Within the text, the system in which AI will be developed and formed in order to accommodate the need for it to be the governing body of other AI systems. Interrogators, Auditors, Monitors, Enforcers, and Ethics bots are all outlined, helping to give the reader a direct idea about exactly how AI will be used to regulate the other operating systems. These five types of “AI Guardians” (Etzioni), range from oversight systems that can manage and overview the driving of a car being operated by an AI, such as a Tesla; but it also includes systems that help decide the best treatment for patients in hospitals when they are in intensive care units and often those who are at the edge of death. Within the example of why an Auditing system would be needed within a hospital, the reason for the article comes out. The reason for the authors to write and inform about this topic is since if the AI system decided to go rouge and suggested different treatments that would not save the patient’s life, an oversight system would be able to fix these issues before they happen, to make sure the doctors are able to save as many lives as possible. The need for AI oversight systems is necessary to make sure your car drives the speed limit and does not make any problems on the road that are against the law and to save people in the intensive care units by presenting doctors with the best way to help their patients. The article is very well written and is very effective in using real life examples to show why it is going to be a necessity to have AI systems overlooking AI systems.
For the article to have some significance and stay with the reader, it needs to be supported by studies and research papers that add extra depth to the paper. Without the utilization of these studies to give their points some footing, the article would have nothing to support their reasoning. Within the article, the authors develop their point that AI should be managed and overlooked by AI. For their point to be proven, they need to use studies and research papers that have to do with the topic, such as The First Law of Robotics and Ethics and Information Technology. Within these articles, both written by one of the authors, the reader can gain extra depth and background for the reasoning of why AI should be monitored by AI. Within these references, the authors make a point using one of the studies, but then proceed to explain and earn their point by utilizing different references. This strategy is very effective in earning their point. By using different scientific sources, the authors are giving the reader more reasons to believe their point. In the article, it uses many different specific names that are from their references to make their point, giving them a step up on illustrating their point. Each reference is used for a different point within the article, making each of the studies important to the overall idea and purpose of the paper. Without the use of the large number of sources, the paper would not stay with the reader for long, but with the excessive evidence to support it, they add depth to the paper. Although, with the use of website links and less specific citations, it lacks the hard-core evidence by not showing the reader where exactly their reasoning for using the article is from.
In the end, the most effective tools used by the authors are the language and rhetoric. To give the reader, the depth and convince them that AI needs to be controlled and monitored by AI, the authors enroll the help of excessive sources and complicated language pertaining to specific communities. Without the use of these complicated sentences and word choice, the article would be easier to understand, but would not be as aggressive as needed to develop and earn its point. Amitai and Oren Etzioni’s article is paired well with Etzioni and Daniel Weld’s to develop and get their point across about artificial intelligence and its possible future issues and how to avoid them.
Help Received: Notes, Engaged Readings, Ms. Smith, easybib.com
Works Cited
Etzioni, Amitai, and Oren Etzioni. “Designing AI Systems That Obey Our Laws and Values.” Viewpoints, Sept. 2016, pp. 29–31.
FAHNESTOCK, JEANNE. “Accommodating Science.” Written Communication, vol. 15, no. 3, 1998, pp. 330–350., https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088398015003006.
Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs. “Rhetoric: Making Sense of Human Interaction and Meaning-Making.” Writing about Writing, Bedford Books St. Martin’s, Boston, MA, 2020.
Wardle, Elizabeth, and James E Porter. “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community.” Writing about Writing, Bedford Books St. Martin’s, Boston, MA, 2020.
Wardle, Elizabeth, and Keith Grant-Davie. “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents.” Writing about Writing, Bedford Books St. Martin’s, Boston, MA, 2020.
Weld, D. and Etzioni, O. The First Law of Robotics (a call to arms). In Proceedings of AAAI ’94, AAAI. 1994; http://bit.ly/292kpSK