Gaussian processes (GPs) are widely used in non-parametric Bayesian modeling, and play an important role in various statistical and machine learning applications. In a variety tasks of uncertainty quantification, generating random sample paths of GPs is of interest. As GP sampling requires generating high-dimensional Gaussian random vectors, it is computationally challenging if a direct method, such as the Cholesky decomposition, is used. In this paper, we propose a scalable algorithm for sampling random realizations of the prior and posterior of GP models. The proposed algorithm leverages inducing points approximation with sparse grids, as well as additive Schwarz preconditioners, which reduce computational complexity, and ensure fast convergence. We demonstrate the efficacy and accuracy of the proposed method through a series of experiments and comparisons with other recent works.

The skeleton of a baby has been found beneath the floorboards of a house. The discovery was made by contractors renovating the property in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, on Monday. Forensic analysts, including an expert anthropologist, have been brought in to help determine its age and how long it has been in the current location. A post-mortem examination and CT scan are scheduled for later this week to determine the cause of death. Durham Police said it had also begun tracing previous residents of the address in Fore Bondgate.

Agricultural meteorological recommendations are crucial for enhancing crop productivity and sustainability by providing farmers with actionable insights based on weather forecasts, soil conditions, and crop-specific data. This paper presents a novel approach that leverages large language models (LLMs) and prompt engineering to improve the accuracy and relevance of these recommendations. We designed a multi-round prompt framework to iteratively refine recommendations using updated data and feedback, implemented on ChatGPT, Claude2, and GPT-4. Our method was evaluated against baseline models and a Chain-of-Thought (CoT) approach using manually collected datasets. The results demonstrate significant improvements in accuracy and contextual relevance, with our approach achieving up to 90\% accuracy and high GPT-4 scores. Additional validation through real-world pilot studies further confirmed the practical benefits of our method, highlighting its potential to transform agricultural practices and decision-making.

Different approaches have been adopted in addressing the challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI), some centred on personal data and others on ethics, respectively narrowing and broadening the scope of AI regulation. This contribution aims to demonstrate that a third way is possible, starting from the acknowledgement of the role that human rights can play in regulating the impact of data-intensive systems. The focus on human rights is neither a paradigm shift nor a mere theoretical exercise. Through the analysis of more than 700 decisions and documents of the data protection authorities of six countries, we show that human rights already underpin the decisions in the field of data use. Based on empirical analysis of this evidence, this work presents a methodology and a model for a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA). The methodology and related assessment model are focused on AI applications, whose nature and scale require a proper contextualisation of HRIA methodology. Moreover, the proposed models provide a more measurable approach to risk assessment which is consistent with the regulatory proposals centred on risk thresholds. The proposed methodology is tested in concrete case-studies to prove its feasibility and effectiveness. The overall goal is to respond to the growing interest in HRIA, moving from a mere theoretical debate to a concrete and context-specific implementation in the field of data-intensive applications based on AI.

Neural Architecture Search (NAS) aims to automate the discovery of high-performing deep neural network architectures. Traditional objective-based NAS approaches typically optimize a certain performance metric (e.g., prediction accuracy), overlooking large parts of the architecture search space that potentially contain interesting network configurations. Furthermore, objective-driven population-based metaheuristics in complex search spaces often quickly exhaust population diversity and succumb to premature convergence to local optima. This issue becomes more complicated in NAS when performance objectives do not fully align with the actual performance of the candidate architectures, as is often the case with training-free metrics. While training-free metrics have gained popularity for their rapid performance estimation of candidate architectures without incurring computation-heavy network training, their effective incorporation into NAS remains a challenge. This paper presents the Pareto Dominance-based Novelty Search for multi-objective NAS with Multiple Training-Free metrics (MTF-PDNS). Unlike conventional NAS methods that optimize explicit objectives, MTF-PDNS promotes population diversity by utilizing a novelty score calculated based on multiple training-free performance and complexity metrics, thereby yielding a broader exploration of the search space. Experimental results on standard NAS benchmark suites demonstrate that MTF-PDNS outperforms conventional methods driven by explicit objectives in terms of convergence speed, diversity maintenance, architecture transferability, and computational costs.

Event-argument extraction is a challenging task, particularly in Arabic due to sparse linguistic resources. To fill this gap, we introduce the \hadath corpus ($550$k tokens) as an extension of Wojood, enriched with event-argument annotations. We used three types of event arguments: $agent$, $location$, and $date$, which we annotated as relation types. Our inter-annotator agreement evaluation resulted in $82.23\%$ $Kappa$ score and $87.2\%$ $F_1$-score. Additionally, we propose a novel method for event relation extraction using BERT, in which we treat the task as text entailment. This method achieves an $F_1$-score of $94.01\%$. To further evaluate the generalization of our proposed method, we collected and annotated another out-of-domain corpus (about $80$k tokens) called \testNLI and used it as a second test set, on which our approach achieved promising results ($83.59\%$ $F_1$-score). Last but not least, we propose an end-to-end system for event-arguments extraction. This system is implemented as part of SinaTools, and both corpora are publicly available at {\small \url{https://sina.birzeit.edu/wojood}}

However, their quadratic time complexity with respect to data size poses challenges when dealing with large datasets. In recent work, quantum randomized measurements kernels and variable subsampling were proposed, as two independent methods to address this problem. The former achieves higher average precision, but suffers from variance, while the latter achieves linear complexity to data size and has lower variance. The current work focuses instead on combining these two methods, along with rotated feature bagging, to achieve linear time complexity both to data size and to number of features.

Load data from power network clusters indicates economic development in each area, crucial for predicting regional trends and guiding power enterprise decisions. The Transformer model, a leading method for load prediction, faces challenges modeling historical data due to variables like weather, events, festivals, and data volatility. To tackle this, the cloud model's fuzzy feature is utilized to manage uncertainties effectively. Presenting an innovative approach, the Cloud Model Improved Transformer (CMIT) method integrates the Transformer model with the cloud model utilizing the particle swarm optimization algorithm, with the aim of achieving robust and precise power load predictions. Through comparative experiments conducted on 31 real datasets within a power network cluster, it is demonstrated that CMIT significantly surpasses the Transformer model in terms of prediction accuracy, thereby highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing forecasting capabilities within the power network cluster sector.

The integration of artificial intelligence into agricultural practices, specifically through Consultation on Intelligent Agricultural Machinery Management (CIAMM), has the potential to revolutionize efficiency and sustainability in farming. This paper introduces a novel approach that leverages large language models (LLMs), particularly GPT-4, combined with multi-round prompt engineering to enhance decision-making processes in agricultural machinery management. We systematically developed and refined prompts to guide the LLMs in generating precise and contextually relevant outputs. Our approach was evaluated using a manually curated dataset from various online sources, and performance was assessed with accuracy and GPT-4 Scores. Comparative experiments were conducted using LLama-2-70B, ChatGPT, and GPT-4 models, alongside baseline and state-of-the-art methods such as Chain of Thought (CoT) and Thought of Thought (ThoT). The results demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms these approaches, achieving higher accuracy and relevance in generated responses. This paper highlights the potential of advanced prompt engineering techniques in improving the robustness and applicability of AI in agricultural contexts.

This chapter explores the essential role of Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) in managing and facilitating secure health data transfers within corporate groups under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). BCRs are tailored to ensure compliance with the GDPR and similar international data protection laws, presenting a flexible mechanism for transferring sensitive health and genomic data. The chapter situates BCRs within the broader spectrum of the GDPR international data transfer mechanisms, addressing the unique challenges posed by the sensitive nature of health data and the increased adoption of AI technologies. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) Recommendations 1/2022 on BCRs, issued following the Schrems II decision, are critically analyzed, highlighting their stringent requirements and the need for a balanced approach that prioritizes data protection and an AI governance framework. The chapter outlines the BCR approval process, stressing the importance of streamlining this process to encourage broader adoption. It underscores the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach in developing BCRs, incorporating recently adopted international standards and frameworks, which offer valuable guidance for organizations to build trustworthy AI management systems. They guarantee the ethical development, deployment, and operation of AI, which is essential for its successful integration and the broader digital transformation. In conclusion, BCRs are positioned as essential tools for secure health data management, fostering transparency, accountability, and collaboration across international borders. The chapter calls for proactive measures to incentivize BCR adoption, streamline approval processes, and promote more innovative approaches, ensuring BCRs remain a robust mechanism for global data protection and compliance.