AI research, competing objectives, and the Fulbright values
[A real technical discussion]
If we see these baselines as ablations…
I was slowly articulating my thoughts.
No! A baseline is not an ablated model.
My advisor cut me off. I suddenly felt defensive.
We were discussing a computational experiment. (Bear with me for some technical content.) I was having an idea of two baseline designs in my head, and was not sure which one should be the one to implement. I had a hunch that the baseline that looks symmetric with the another baseline in another task — from the ablation point of view — would be the better one. So I presented the reason to thay1 as “if we see baselines as ablations …” He cut me off right away.
At first, I was defensive with the interruption. A thought flashed through my head: “Oh, he said I am wrong? How could that happen?” Immediately after that, he explained, and his reasoning was mind-opening. He said that a baseline is not an ablated model. Instead, a baseline is an implementation of the latest technology. That was a simple yet effective definition of baselines that clearly separates the wrong design from the correct one. That was also a piece of knowledge that I didn’t know; but as soon as I hear it, I find it truthful. So I quickly recovered from my defensiveness and moved on with the discussion.
I sometimes (i.e., often) get defensive like that with friends, teammates, and even mentors. From this event, I was reminded that, when a work discussion turns into a debate, it is very important to stay both (1) critical and (2) open-minded. If you really think about it, you will see that they can easily become competing objectives if the learner is not skillful enough. It takes practice to maintain both.
But wait a minute. These objectives sound very familiar to me. I have seen it somewhere…
Fulbright 2019 admission criteria
I was applying to Fulbright University Vietnam, the first liberal arts university in the country, 6 years ago. I was sold to the idea of going to Fulbright for many reasons, but one of them is the promise of training students to excel in several competencies. Retrieving the list using Wayback Machine, I found the relevant competency:
Critical Thinking: The ability to use objective analysis of evidence to form a defensible judgment or argument. Examples include assessing the reliability of media information, creating an argument and a counter argument, and evaluating the validity and reliability of a scientific proposal.
Emphasis on “defensible argument”. Perhaps my defensiveness comes from here.
But at the same time, Fulbright admission criteria contain the following (also retrieved using Wayback Machine):
Intellectually curious: Thirsty for challenges, eager for knowledge, open-minded about new ideas, and willing to have their minds changed by a good argument.
Emphasis on “willing to have their minds changed by a good argument”.
Four years at Fulbright trained me on both ends. And up until now, I still find it fruitful to think about them. The event today reminds me of exactly those values I was learning 6 years ago.
I learned a lot of math and programming in high school, but I started learning to think principally since I joined Fulbright. The university was neither about giving one course after another nor about the hard skills. It was really about sharpening the principled “competencies”. In those early days of the school, there was a unanimous atmosphere across the tiny campus to practice those values, from the students to the highest administration. The whole school was a community of practice. ChatGPT back then was not a thing2. But I have faith that that the majority of the Fulbright community in 2019 would not use ChatGPT irresponsibly in assignments. That is very obvious to me. The irresponsible ChatGPT use that we see these days in students (such as just to finish the assignments) are clearly violating the personal goals of the students in Fulbright community back then.
How to build a utopian university?
It is good to have universities like the Fulbright I went to. How can we build such a school? I think of two reasons:
- The program designers truly believe that such competences are good to practice. Those designers are founding faculty members and academic officers. Not just believing in the values, many of them practice those values. (See the full list of them in the Appendix.) They demonstrated the values to us, being our role models. I think many technically capable professionals can not appreciate those values.
- Even when the program designers do not excel at those values, they could recognize students who demonstrated them. And it was not a coincidence that those values are baked into the admission requirements. They were looked for during the highly holistic admission process. (Fulbright perhaps has one of the most holistic admission process in Vietnamese higher education up until now.) As a results, those students who already have such values become a second source of role models for other students.
Imagine being in an environment like that where all your teachers and friends care so much about being a good thinker and good citizen. They aggressively debunk the absurdity of “studying just to pass” (học đối phó). They praise intellectually curious students more than smart students. And they praise those who think critically instead of those who just sit still in lectures and take notes of everything.
I think there should be an award for the Fulbright academic team. But I know they won’t care about those awards. But anway, thank you FUV :)
Appendix
Thay Hung Phan, a founding faculty as FUV. Image courtesy by FUV Facebook page.
Competencies: learning beyond content (by Fulbright University Vietnam)
At Fulbright, we believe learning goes beyond grades and tests. In addition to exposing you to big ideas, our curriculum helps you master six key competencies.
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Innovative and Creative Thinking
The ability to generate new ideas and concepts, assess the interplay between novelty and value, and develop new ways of thinking about a topic or concept. Examples include making a new app, an artistic representation, a new bridge design, or a new business proposal.
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Collaboration
The ability to work effectively with a team or partner, and in doing so, recognize ones strengths and weaknesses as a team member. Examples include successful group work with a shared common goal, transdisciplinary work, and maintaining a growth mindset as a group of people.
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Inquiry (Synthetic Reasoning)
The ability to generate information and observations through experimentation or investigation that allows one to draw meaningful conclusions about complicated or puzzling situations. Examples include research on human behavior, historical inquiry, and scientific investigation.
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Critical Thinking
The ability to use objective analysis of evidence to form a defensible judgment or argument. Examples include assessing the reliability of media information, creating an argument and a counter argument, and evaluating the validity and reliability of a scientific proposal.
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Effective Communication
The ability to share information which takes into account the knowledge and abilities of the audience and making the communication more persuasive and meaningful. Examples include effective science communication to lay people, policy briefs about government policy, and film representations of social justice issues.
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Formulation (Analytic Reasoning)
The ability to use a reasoning framework to create an argument or elucidate a pattern from a set of perspectives, observations, or information that yields a valid conclusion. Examples include a persuasive argument, a mathematical proof, an economic model of spending behavior, and a computer program.
Who are we looking for? (by Fulbright University Vietnam)
Fulbright’s inaugural year marks a unique opportunity. Students and faculty will work closely to create Vietnam’s first university in the liberal arts, sciences and engineering traditions. To do so, we are looking for students who are:
- Intellectually curious: Thirsty for challenges, eager for knowledge, open-minded about new ideas, and willing to have their minds changed by a good argument.
- Pioneering: Vitalized by the entrepreneurial spirit, creative in their approach to problem solving, and comfortable learning from their mistakes.
- Community-minded: Collaborative and supportive. We are building a new university with its own culture. We seek students who work well with each other and enjoy doing so, and who want to make the world a better place through service to society.
- Committed: Students who finish what they start, who overcome roadblocks with grace, and who are resourceful in their problem solving. Students equally committed to their personal passions and improving the lives of the individuals and community around them.
- Have integrity: Students who are trusted and respected in their communities and capable of overcoming setbacks. For the foundation of such a bold enterprise, we need people who act with integrity, are authentic, honest, emotionally mature, and resilient.
Beyond these characteristics, we are also looking for students who have demonstrated their ability to think critically and creatively, effectively communicate and collaborate with others and pursue their passions. Finally, we seek students who have academic depth and breadth. We hope to see these qualities, characteristics and more by best understanding our applicants throughout the admissions process.
P/S: Critical thinking is also in the admission criteria, but not highlighted. Perhaps it is easy to teach than open-mindedness?