Africa
Near-realtime Facial Animation by Deep 3D Simulation Super-Resolution
Park, Hyojoon, Srinivasan, Sangeetha Grama, Cong, Matthew, Kim, Doyub, Kim, Byungsoo, Swartz, Jonathan, Museth, Ken, Sifakis, Eftychios
We present a neural network-based simulation super-resolution framework that can efficiently and realistically enhance a facial performance produced by a low-cost, realtime physics-based simulation to a level of detail that closely approximates that of a reference-quality off-line simulator with much higher resolution (26x element count in our examples) and accurate physical modeling. Our approach is rooted in our ability to construct - via simulation - a training set of paired frames, from the low- and high-resolution simulators respectively, that are in semantic correspondence with each other. We use face animation as an exemplar of such a simulation domain, where creating this semantic congruence is achieved by simply dialing in the same muscle actuation controls and skeletal pose in the two simulators. Our proposed neural network super-resolution framework generalizes from this training set to unseen expressions, compensates for modeling discrepancies between the two simulations due to limited resolution or cost-cutting approximations in the real-time variant, and does not require any semantic descriptors or parameters to be provided as input, other than the result of the real-time simulation. We evaluate the efficacy of our pipeline on a variety of expressive performances and provide comparisons and ablation experiments for plausible variations and alternatives to our proposed scheme.
AttentionViz: A Global View of Transformer Attention
Yeh, Catherine, Chen, Yida, Wu, Aoyu, Chen, Cynthia, Viรฉgas, Fernanda, Wattenberg, Martin
Figure 1: AttentionViz, our interactive visualization tool, allows users to explore transformer self-attention at scale by creating a joint embedding space for queries and keys. Each point in the scatterplot represents the query or key version of a word, as denoted by point color. Users can explore individual attention heads (left) or zoom out for a "global" view of attention (right). Abstract--Transformer models are revolutionizing machine learning, but their inner workings remain mysterious. In this work, we present a new visualization technique designed to help researchers understand the self-attention mechanism in transformers that allows these models to learn rich, contextual relationships between elements of a sequence. The main idea behind our method is to visualize a joint embedding of the query and key vectors used by transformer models to compute attention. Unlike previous attention visualization techniques, our approach enables the analysis of global patterns across multiple input sequences. We create an interactive visualization tool, AttentionViz (demo: http://attentionviz.com), based on these joint query-key embeddings, and use it to study attention mechanisms in both language and vision transformers. We demonstrate the utility of our approach in improving model understanding and offering new insights about query-key interactions through several application scenarios and expert feedback. The transformer neural network architecture [52] is having a major impact In this work, we describe a new visualization technique aimed at on fields ranging from natural language processing (NLP) [13, 42] better comprehending how transformers operate. Indeed, transformers are now deployed in introduction to transformers in Sec. However, the mechanisms these models to learn and use a rich set of relationships between input behind this success remain somewhat mysterious, especially as elements.
Inducing Neural Collapse to a Fixed Hierarchy-Aware Frame for Reducing Mistake Severity
There is a recently discovered and intriguing phenomenon called Neural Collapse: at the terminal phase of training a deep neural network for classification, the within-class penultimate feature means and the associated classifier vectors of all flat classes collapse to the vertices of a simplex Equiangular Tight Frame (ETF). Recent work has tried to exploit this phenomenon by fixing the related classifier weights to a pre-computed ETF to induce neural collapse and maximize the separation of the learned features when training with imbalanced data. In this work, we propose to fix the linear classifier of a deep neural network to a Hierarchy-Aware Frame (HAFrame), instead of an ETF, and use a cosine similarity-based auxiliary loss to learn hierarchy-aware penultimate features that collapse to the HAFrame. We demonstrate that our approach reduces the mistake severity of the model's predictions while maintaining its top-1 accuracy on several datasets of varying scales with hierarchies of heights ranging from 3 to 12. Code: https://github.com/ltong1130ztr/HAFrame
Connectivity Optimized Nested Graph Networks for Crystal Structures
Ruff, Robin, Reiser, Patrick, Stรผhmer, Jan, Friederich, Pascal
Graph neural networks (GNNs) have been applied to a large variety of applications in materials science and chemistry. Here, we recapitulate the graph construction for crystalline (periodic) materials and investigate its impact on the GNNs model performance. We suggest the asymmetric unit cell as a representation to reduce the number of atoms by using all symmetries of the system. This substantially reduced the computational cost and thus time needed to train large graph neural networks without any loss in accuracy. Furthermore, with a simple but systematically built GNN architecture based on message passing and line graph templates, we introduce a general architecture (Nested Graph Network, NGN) that is applicable to a wide range of tasks. We show that our suggested models systematically improve state-of-the-art results across all tasks within the MatBench benchmark. Further analysis shows that optimized connectivity and deeper message functions are responsible for the improvement. Asymmetric unit cells and connectivity optimization can be generally applied to (crystal) graph networks, while our suggested nested graph framework will open new ways of systematic comparison of GNN architectures.
Inverse problem for parameters identification in a modified SIRD epidemic model using ensemble neural networks
Petrica, Marian, Popescu, Ionel
In this paper, we propose a parameter identification methodology of the SIRD model, an extension of the classical SIR model, that considers the deceased as a separate category. In addition, our model includes one parameter which is the ratio between the real total number of infected and the number of infected that were documented in the official statistics. Due to many factors, like governmental decisions, several variants circulating, opening and closing of schools, the typical assumption that the parameters of the model stay constant for long periods of time is not realistic. Thus our objective is to create a method which works for short periods of time. In this scope, we approach the estimation relying on the previous 7 days of data and then use the identified parameters to make predictions. To perform the estimation of the parameters we propose the average of an ensemble of neural networks. Each neural network is constructed based on a database built by solving the SIRD for 7 days, with random parameters. In this way, the networks learn the parameters from the solution of the SIRD model. Lastly we use the ensemble to get estimates of the parameters from the real data of Covid19 in Romania and then we illustrate the predictions for different periods of time, from 10 up to 45 days, for the number of deaths. The main goal was to apply this approach on the analysis of COVID-19 evolution in Romania, but this was also exemplified on other countries like Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland with similar results. The results are backed by a theorem which guarantees that we can recover the parameters of the model from the reported data. We believe this methodology can be used as a general tool for dealing with short term predictions of infectious diseases or in other compartmental models.
Spotify's new AI 'DJ' expands to 50 countries
The beta version of Spotify's AI-enhanced DJ feature is coming to 50 new countries, after soft-launching in the US and Canada back in February. In recent months, it's rolled out in the UK and Ireland, but now the robotic Wolfman Jack is headed to more countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, in addition to Australia and New Zealand. There's a caveat, but it depends on some initial understanding of what this tool actually does. The Spotify DJ is available to premium subscription members and provides algorithmic recommendations of what to listen to, just like any music streaming app. However, these recommendations are accompanied by AI-generated DJ commentary on what you're listening to. The DJ, based on Spotify's Xavier Jernigan, only speaks English, no matter where you live.
Dynamic Controllability of Temporal Plans in Uncertain and Partially Observable Environments
Bit-Monnot, Arthur (a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:9:"LAAS-CNRS";}) | Morris, Paul (NASA Ames Research Center)
The formalism of Simple Temporal Networks (STNs) provides methods for evaluating the feasibility of temporal plans. The basic formalism deals with the consistency of quantitative temporal requirements on scheduled events. This implicitly assumes a single agent has full control over the timing of events. The extension of Simple Temporal Networks with Uncertainty (STNU) introduces uncertainty into the timing of some events. Two main approaches to the feasibility of STNUs involve (1) where a single schedule works irrespective of the duration outcomes, called Strong Controllability, and (2) whether a strategy exists to schedule future events based on the outcomes of past events, called Dynamic Controllability. Case (1) essentially assumes the timing of uncertain events cannot be observed by the agent while case (2) assumes full observability. The formalism of Partially Observable Simple Temporal Networks with Uncertainty (POSTNU) provides an intermediate stance between these two extremes, where a known subset of the uncertain events can be observed when they occur. A sound and complete polynomial algorithm to determining the Dynamic Controllability of POSTNUs has not previously been known; we present one in this paper. This answers an open problem that has been posed in the literature. The approach we take factors the problem into Strong Controllability micro-problems in an overall Dynamic Controllability macro-problem framework. It generalizes the notion of labeled distance graph from STNUs. The generalized labels are expressed as max/min expressions involving the observables. The paper introduces sound generalized reduction rules that act on the generalized labels. These incorporate tightenings based on observability that preserve dynamic viable strategies. It is shown that if the generalized reduction rules reach quiescence without exposing an inconsistency, then the POSTNU is Dynamically Controllable (DC). The paper also presents algorithms that apply the reduction rules in an organized way and reach quiescence in a polynomial number of steps if the POSTNU is Dynamically Controllable. Remarkably, the generalized perspective leads to a simpler and more uniform framework that applies also to the STNU special case. It helps illuminate the previous methods inasmuch as the max/min label representation is more semantically clear than the ad-hoc upper/lower case labels previously used.
Collective Human Opinions in Semantic Textual Similarity
Wang, Yuxia, Tao, Shimin, Xie, Ning, Yang, Hao, Baldwin, Timothy, Verspoor, Karin
Despite the subjective nature of semantic textual similarity (STS) and pervasive disagreements in STS annotation, existing benchmarks have used averaged human ratings as the gold standard. Averaging masks the true distribution of human opinions on examples of low agreement, and prevents models from capturing the semantic vagueness that the individual ratings represent. In this work, we introduce USTS, the first Uncertainty-aware STS dataset with ~15,000 Chinese sentence pairs and 150,000 labels, to study collective human opinions in STS. Analysis reveals that neither a scalar nor a single Gaussian fits a set of observed judgements adequately. We further show that current STS models cannot capture the variance caused by human disagreement on individual instances, but rather reflect the predictive confidence over the aggregate dataset.
Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Data Preprocessing Techniques for Detection, Prediction, and Monitoring of Stress and Stress-related Mental Disorders: A Scoping Review
Razavi, Moein, Ziyadidegan, Samira, Jahromi, Reza, Kazeminasab, Saber, Janfaza, Vahid, Mahmoudzadeh, Ahmadreza, Baharlouei, Elaheh, Sasangohar, Farzan
This comprehensive review systematically evaluates Machine Learning (ML) methodologies employed in the detection, prediction, and analysis of mental stress and its consequent mental disorders (MDs). Utilizing a rigorous scoping review process, the investigation delves into the latest ML algorithms, preprocessing techniques, and data types employed in the context of stress and stress-related MDs. The findings highlight that Support Vector Machine (SVM), Neural Network (NN), and Random Forest (RF) models consistently exhibit superior accuracy and robustness among all machine learning algorithms examined. Furthermore, the review underscores that physiological parameters, such as heart rate measurements and skin response, are prevalently used as stress predictors in ML algorithms. This is attributed to their rich explanatory information concerning stress and stress-related MDs, as well as the relative ease of data acquisition. Additionally, the application of dimensionality reduction techniques, including mappings, feature selection, filtering, and noise reduction, is frequently observed as a crucial step preceding the training of ML algorithms. The synthesis of this review identifies significant research gaps and outlines future directions for the field. These encompass areas such as model interpretability, model personalization, the incorporation of naturalistic settings, and real-time processing capabilities for detection and prediction of stress and stress-related MDs.
Quantization Aware Factorization for Deep Neural Network Compression
Cherniuk, Daria, Abukhovich, Stanislav, Phan, Anh-Huy, Oseledets, Ivan, Cichocki, Andrzej, Gusak, Julia
Tensor decomposition of convolutional and fully-connected layers is an effective way to reduce parameters and FLOP in neural networks. Due to memory and power consumption limitations of mobile or embedded devices, the quantization step is usually necessary when pre-trained models are deployed. A conventional post-training quantization approach applied to networks with decomposed weights yields a drop in accuracy. This motivated us to develop an algorithm that finds tensor approximation directly with quantized factors and thus benefit from both compression techniques while keeping the prediction quality of the model. Namely, we propose to use Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) for Canonical Polyadic (CP) decomposition with factors whose elements lie on a specified quantization grid. We compress neural network weights with a devised algorithm and evaluate it's prediction quality and performance. We compare our approach to state-of-the-art post-training quantization methods and demonstrate competitive results and high flexibility in achiving a desirable quality-performance tradeoff.