When AI Systems Fail: A Personal Account of the Crisis at Poland’s Leading Philosophy Institute

As the Chair of Logic and Cognitive Science at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN), I find myself in an unprecedented situation. Our institute, one of Poland’s premier research institutions, is fighting for its academic future due to a deeply flawed evaluation process that threatens our ability to grant doctoral and habilitation degrees and participate in key academic functions.

The situation has already gained international attention, including coverage on Daily Nous, a leading philosophy news website. As someone who personally represented our institute before the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw, I can attest to the kafka-esque nature of this crisis.

The heart of the matter lies in a problematic evaluation system implemented under former Minister Jarosław Gowin. What makes this case particularly troubling is its apparent political dimension – our institute was perceived as opposition to the former ruling PiS party, and there are grounds to suspect that the ministry has something to hide: our requests for public information are regularly rejected, making this process highly untransparent.

The technical details reveal a startling failure: the Ministry’s AI-powered data entry system (POL-on) failed to properly recognize and categorize our publications, particularly books from various publishers. This led to an absurd situation where our institute received the lowest score in Poland for research publications (Criterion I) while simultaneously achieving the highest score for research grants (Criterion II). As anyone in academia knows, securing prestigious grants like the ERC Consolidator Grant (which we did) requires an excellent publication record.

The court case revealed even more troubling aspects. The Ministry refuses to disclose the identities of experts evaluating scientific achievements, despite having no legal basis for such secrecy. When we won our case in the Provincial Administrative Court, which ruled the evaluation unconstitutional, the Ministry – instead of conducting a fair re-evaluation – filed a cassation appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.

Most disturbing is how the current Ministry of Science and Higher Education, despite the change in government, continues to defend these flawed procedures. Their claim that re-evaluating our case would set a “dangerous precedent” is simply false – the decision would only affect our institute, even though the evaluation procedures themselves desperately need reform. The core of the issue is that Polish administrative law requires that all administrative decisions are based on fact rather than on opinion, written record, and it’s the obligation of the authorities to make sure they established the facts. They utterly failed to do so, even if the law requires this.

The international philosophical community has responded with remarkable solidarity. Distinguished scholars including Judith Butler, David Chalmers, and Timothy Williamson, among many others, have signed an open letter demanding immediate action. I’m really grateful for this support.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Sign the open letter

2. Share this story with your academic networks

3. Support international cooperation with IFiS PAN

4. Join us in demanding transparency in academic evaluation processes

5. Monitor similar cases of procedural irregularities in your country

This is not just about one institute – it’s about defending academic freedom and ensuring that arbitrary technical procedures and political considerations don’t undermine the pursuit of knowledge.

As someone working at the intersection of philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and AI, I find it particularly ironic that an AI system’s failure to perform basic named entity recognition has become a tool for potential political manipulation. The international philosophical community’s support is crucial now more than ever. We need to ensure that one of Poland’s most prestigious research institutions can continue its valuable contributions to global scholarship without undue hindrance.

Grand English-Polish Dictionary available in Microsoft Store

Following our success on the Kindle platform, our Grand English-Polish Dictionary is now available as a Windows application in the Microsoft Store.

What Sets Our Dictionary Apart?

  • Unmatched Scope: With 3.3 million words, hundreds of thousands of meanings, and over 200,000 definitions, our dictionary offers more than 20% additional content compared to the largest dictionaries currently available.
  • Specialized Vocabulary: Covering over 150 fields, with a strong focus on business and finance, our dictionary includes the most comprehensive and up-to-date industry terms, thanks to our collaboration with expert Roman Kozierkiewicz.
  • Modern Language Relevance: This is the only extensive English-Polish dictionary that incorporates 21st-century vocabulary. We have balanced British and American English, using British English as the primary standard in line with the official European Union guidelines.

Application Features

  • Offline Access: The dictionary functions without an internet connection, allowing you to use it anywhere.
  • Search Functionality: Easily find the words or phrases you need.
  • Favorites: Save important entries for quick access. Human memory isn’t infallible!
  • Search History: Return to previously searched entries.
  • Clickable Links: Navigate between related entries with a single click.
  • Anonymous Feedback: Reader feedback is important to us! You can suggest new entries or report errors without revealing your identity.
  • Privacy Protection: The app does not collect any personal data from its users, ensuring complete privacy.

Continuous Development and Updates

Our dictionary is not just a vast database; it’s a dynamic project that we continuously develop. We plan regular updates, and all future versions will be available for free to current users of the Microsoft Store app.

Pricing and Availability

The app is available at a promotional price of 19.49 PLN. This is a small investment compared to the benefits of having such a comprehensive and advanced language tool.

What’s Next?

We’re not stopping here! Versions for other platforms are coming soon, with Android app testing already underway. Additionally, we are working on updating our dictionary release for Kindle and Pocketbook formats.

A Delicate Balancing Act: Integrative Pluralism and the Pursuit of Unified Theories

Item Type Journal Article
Author Marcin Miłkowski
URL https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10699-024-09958-9
Rights 2024 The Author(s)
Pages 1-20
Publication Foundations of Science
ISSN 1572-8471
Date 2024-07-30
Extra Publisher: Springer
DOI 10.1007/s10699-024-09958-9
Accessed 2024-08-05 13:50:37
Library Catalog link.springer.com
Language En
Abstract This paper examines the interplay between integrative explanatory pluralism and the quest for unified theories. We argue that when grounded in virtues associated with satisfactory explanations, integrative pluralism exhibits an inherent instability stemming from the conflict between the demand for unity and the commitment to preserving a patchwork of disparate partial explanations. A case study in cognitive science illuminates the challenges of maintaining both systematicity and depth in explanations within this framework. While this instability does not render integrative pluralism fundamentally flawed, it stresses the importance of a diachronic analysis of scientific dynamics and norms. The conclusion highlights the continued value of integrative pluralism in interdisciplinary research programs, while emphasizing its role as a temporary rather than permanent approach.
Short Title A Delicate Balancing Act

Source: Publications

Models of Environment

Type Book Section
Editor Roger Frantz
Editor Leslie Marsh
Author Marcin Miłkowski
URL http://link.springer.com/10.1057/9781137442505_13
Place London
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan UK
Pages 227-238
ISBN 978-1-349-56680-8 978-1-137-44250-5
Date 2016
Extra DOI: 10.1057/9781137442505_13
Accessed 2022-12-22 17:09:26
Library Catalog DOI.org (Crossref)
Language en
Book Title Minds, Models and Milieux

Source: Publications

Testable or bust: theoretical lessons for predictive processing

Type Journal Article
Author Marcin Miłkowski
Author Piotr Litwin
URL https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11229-022-03891-9
Volume 200
Issue 6
Pages 462
Publication Synthese
ISSN 1573-0964
Date 2022-11-02
Journal Abbr Synthese
DOI 10.1007/s11229-022-03891-9
Accessed 2022-11-04 12:05:41
Library Catalog DOI.org (Crossref)
Language en
Abstract Abstract

The predictive processing (PP) account of action, cognition, and perception is one of the most influential approaches to unifying research in cognitive science. However, its promises of grand unification will remain unfulfilled unless the account becomes theoretically robust. In this paper, we focus on empirical commitments of PP, since they are necessary both for its theoretical status to be established and for explanations of individual phenomena to be falsifiable. First, we argue that PP is a varied research tradition, which may employ various kinds of scientific representations (from theories to frameworks and toolboxes), differing in the scope of empirical commitments they entail. Two major perspectives on PP
qua
cognitive theory may then be distinguished: generalized vs. hierarchical. The first one fails to provide empirical detail, and the latter constrains possible physical implementations. However, we show that even hierarchical PP is insufficiently restrictive to disallow incorrect models and may be adjusted to explain any neurocognitive phenomenon–including non-existent or impossible ones–through flexible adjustments. This renders PP a universal modeling tool with an unrestricted number of degrees of freedom. Therefore, in contrast with declarations of its proponents, it should not be understood as a unifying theoretical perspective, but as a computational framework, possibly informing further theory development in cognitive science.

Short Title Testable or bust

Source: Publications

Misidentification delusions as mentalization disorders

Type Journal Article
Author Adrianna Smurzyńska
URL https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-022-09820-y
Publication Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences
ISSN 1572-8676
Date 2022-05-25
Journal Abbr Phenom Cogn Sci
DOI 10.1007/s11097-022-09820-y
Accessed 2022-05-26 07:58:37
Library Catalog Springer Link
Language en
Abstract The aim of this article is to analyze those theories that interpret misidentification delusions in terms of mentalization. The hypothesis under examination holds that a mentalization framework is useful for describing misidentification delusions when identification is thought to be partially based on mentalization. The article provides both a characterization and possible interpretations of such delusions, and possible relations between misidentification and mentalization are scrutinized. Whether the mentalization approach may explain or describe such kinds of mental disorders is considered, with the conclusion that while this approach is unsatisfactory, there is some room for future improvement.

Source: Publications

Piotr Kozak – Thinking with Images

The next meeting of the seminar Philosophy of Cognitive Science is planned for May, 12th, at 10:30 (AM Warsaw, CET). Our guest will be Piotr Kozak(IPS PAS). We will discuss a draft of the Introduction and Chapter 1 from his forthcoming book: Thinking with Images: Imagistic Cognition and Non-propositional Content. For the more interested we also attach Chapter 6.

From Introduction:
 The main research question of this book is: What is thinking with images? The question is analogical in its form to such questions as ‘what is thinking with language?’ It means that if we can ask whether we can think in or with language, then we can ask whether we can think in or with images.

The question follows from a commonsensical observation: when someone is asked how many windows are in his or her flat, he or she will probably form and inspect a mental image of the flat and count the windows. If an architect designs a house, then he or she designs the house with the help of drawings. If one tries to get from point to point B, one may use a map.

The examples above are instantiations of what can be called ‘thinking with images’. However, listing examples of imagistic thinking is a relatively easy task. The difficult task is to say exactly what thinking with images is.

Imagistic thinking is understood here in three ways: as a faculty, an act, and a mental state or an event. The faculty of imagistic thinking refers to the capacity of using images in thinking. The act of imagistic thinking is exercising this faculty. The mental state called ‘imagistic thought’ is a product of such an act.

.pf-button.pf-button-excerpt { display: none; }
Source: Cognitive Science in Search of Unity

Without more theory, psychology will be a headless rider

Type Journal Article
Author Witold M. Hensel
Author Marcin Miłkowski
Author Przemysław Nowakowski
URL https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0140525X21000212/type/journal_article
Volume 45
Pages e20
Publication Behavioral and Brain Sciences
ISSN 0140-525X, 1469-1825
Date 2022
Journal Abbr Behav Brain Sci
DOI 10.1017/S0140525X21000212
Accessed 2022-02-10 08:48:42
Library Catalog DOI.org (Crossref)
Language en
Abstract Abstract
We argue that Yarkoni's proposed solutions to the generalizability crisis are half-measures because he does not recognize that the crisis arises from investigators' underappreciation of the roles of theory in experimental research. Rather than embracing qualitative analysis, the research community should make an effort to develop better theories and work toward consistently incorporating theoretical results into experimental practice.

Source: Publications

Sloty online przyciągają graczy swoją prostotą i różnorodnością. Można wśród nich znaleźć zarówno klasyczne automaty owocowe, jak i nowoczesne tytuły z motywami filmowymi, darmowymi spinami czy progresywnymi jackpotami, które zwiększają emocje z gry.

Magas szorzók és gyors kifizetések a mostbet-hungary.org.

Решил попробовать экспрессы в конторе 1xbet и сорвал неплохой куш - буду ставить здесь и дальше.

Çox xoşuma gəlir ki, etopaz istənilən e-idman intizamına, o cümlədən Dota 2, CS:GO, League of Legends və başqalarına mərc edə bilərsiniz.

Vasitəsilə reqbi mərcini kəşf edəndə rahatlığın, rəqabətli əmsalların və geniş seçim seçiminin pinup 360 mükəmməl birləşməsini kəşf etdim ki, bu da bu maraqlı idmana olan marağımı xeyli artırdı.