Deep learning techniques are growing in popularity within the field of artificial intelligence (AI). These approaches identify patterns in large scale datasets, and make classifications and predictions, which have been celebrated as more accurate than those of humans. But for a number of reasons, including nonlinear path from inputs to outputs, there is a dearth of theory that can explain why deep learning techniques work so well at pattern detection and prediction. Claims about “superhuman” accuracy and insight, paired with the inability to fully explain how these results are produced, form a discourse about AI that we call enchanted determinism . To analyze enchanted determinism, we situate it within a broader epistemological diagnosis of modernity: Max Weber’s theory of disenchantment. Deep learning occupies an ambiguous position in this framework. On one hand, it represents a complex form of technological calculation and prediction, phenomena Weber associated with disenchantment. On the other hand, both deep learning experts and observers deploy enchanted, magical discourses to describe these systems’ uninterpretable mechanisms and counter-intuitive behavior. The combination of predictive accuracy and mysterious or unexplainable properties results in myth-making about deep learning’s transcendent, superhuman capacities, especially when it is applied in social settings. We analyze how discourses of magical deep learning produce techno-optimism, drawing on case studies from game-playing, adversarial examples, and attempts to infer sexual orientation from facial images. Enchantment shields the creators of these systems from accountability while its deterministic, calculative power intensifies social processes of classification and control.

中文翻译：

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魔法决定论：人工智能中没有责任的力量

深度学习技术在人工智能（AI）领域越来越流行。这些方法可以识别大规模数据集中的模式，并进行分类和预测，这些方法被认为比人类更准确。但是由于多种原因，包括从输入到输出的非线性路径，缺乏理论可以解释为什么深度学习技术在模式检测和预测中如此有效。关于“超人”准确性和洞察力的主张，加上无法完全解释这些结果是如何产生的，构成了关于AI的论述，我们称之为附魔决定论。为了分析附魔的决定论，我们将其置于对现代性的更广泛的认识论诊断中：马克斯·韦伯的分解理论。深度学习在该框架中占据着模棱两可的位置。一方面，它代表了技术计算和预测的复杂形式，这是韦伯与幻灭相关的现象。另一方面，深度学习专家和观察员都运用迷人的魔法话语来描述这些系统不可解释的机制和违反直觉的行为。预测准确性与神秘或无法解释的属性相结合，导致人们对深度学习的超然超人能力产生神话，尤其是在社会环境中应用时。我们利用游戏中的案例研究，对抗性实例，并尝试从面部图像推断性取向，来分析神奇深度学习的话语如何产生技术优化。