Too Much Efficiency Makes Everything Worse: Overfitting and the Strong Version of Goodhart's Law
Jascha Sohl-Dicksteinsohl-dickstein.github.ioSaved by sari and
Too Much Efficiency Makes Everything Worse: Overfitting and the Strong Version of Goodhart's Law
Increased efficiency can sometimes, counterintuitively, lead to worse outcomes. This is true almost everywhere. We will name this phenomenon the strong version of Goodhart's law. As one example, more efficient centralized tracking of student progress by standardized testing seems like such a good idea that well-intentioned laws manda
... See moreJascha Sohl-Dickstein • Too Much Efficiency Makes Everything Worse: Overfitting and the Strong Version of Goodhart's Law
Goodhart's law, coined by the British economist Charles Goodhart: when a measure becomes a target it ceases to be a good measure.
Vincent Deary • How We Break
Goodhart's law is an adage often stated as, "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure".[1] It is named after British economist Charles Goodhart, who is credited with expressing the core idea of the adage in a 1975 article on monetary policy in the United Kingdom:[2] Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse on
... See moreIncreasing efficiency is permeating almost every aspect of our society. If the thing that is being made more efficient is beneficial, then the increased efficiency makes the world a better place (overall, the world seems to be becoming a better place). If the thing that is being made more efficient is socially harmful, then the consequences of grea... See more