OpenAI, DeepMind double team to make future AI machines safer

Researchers from OpenAI and DeepMind are hoping to make artificial intelligence safer using a new algorithm that learns from human feedback. Both companies are experts in reinforcement learning – an area of machine learning that rewards agents if they take the right actions to complete a task under a given environment. The goal is specified through an algorithm, and the agent is programmed to chase the reward, like winning points in a game. Reinforcement learning has been successful in teaching machines how to play games like Doom or Pong or drive autonomous cars via simulation. It's a powerful method to explore an agent's behavior, but it can be dangerous if the hard-coded algorithm is wrong or produces undesirable effects.