Governance Challenges in Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback: Evaluator Rationality and Reinforcement Stability

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alsagheer, Dana, Kamal, Abdulrahman, Kamal, Mohammad, Shi, Weidong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866908326524092416
author Alsagheer, Dana
Kamal, Abdulrahman
Kamal, Mohammad
Shi, Weidong
author_facet Alsagheer, Dana
Kamal, Abdulrahman
Kamal, Mohammad
Shi, Weidong
contents Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) is central in aligning large language models (LLMs) with human values and expectations. However, the process remains susceptible to governance challenges, including evaluator bias, inconsistency, and the unreliability of feedback. This study examines how the cognitive capacity of evaluators, specifically their level of rationality, affects the stability of reinforcement signals. A controlled experiment comparing high-rationality and low-rationality participants reveals that evaluators with higher rationality scores produce significantly more consistent and expert-aligned feedback. In contrast, lower-rationality participants demonstrate considerable variability in their reinforcement decisions ($p < 0.01$). To address these challenges and improve RLHF governance, we recommend implementing evaluator pre-screening, systematic auditing of feedback consistency, and reliability-weighted reinforcement aggregation. These measures enhance the fairness, transparency, and robustness of AI alignment pipelines.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_13972
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Governance Challenges in Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback: Evaluator Rationality and Reinforcement Stability
Alsagheer, Dana
Kamal, Abdulrahman
Kamal, Mohammad
Shi, Weidong
Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) is central in aligning large language models (LLMs) with human values and expectations. However, the process remains susceptible to governance challenges, including evaluator bias, inconsistency, and the unreliability of feedback. This study examines how the cognitive capacity of evaluators, specifically their level of rationality, affects the stability of reinforcement signals. A controlled experiment comparing high-rationality and low-rationality participants reveals that evaluators with higher rationality scores produce significantly more consistent and expert-aligned feedback. In contrast, lower-rationality participants demonstrate considerable variability in their reinforcement decisions ($p < 0.01$). To address these challenges and improve RLHF governance, we recommend implementing evaluator pre-screening, systematic auditing of feedback consistency, and reliability-weighted reinforcement aggregation. These measures enhance the fairness, transparency, and robustness of AI alignment pipelines.
title Governance Challenges in Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback: Evaluator Rationality and Reinforcement Stability
topic Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.13972