In this paper, we address the problem of hidden common variables discovery from multimodal data sets of nonlinear high-dimensional observations. We present a metric based on local applications of canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and incorporate it in a kernel-based manifold learning technique.We show that this metric discovers the hidden common variables underlying the multimodal observations by estimating the Euclidean distance between them. Our approach can be viewed both as an extension of CCA to a nonlinear setting as well as an extension of manifold learning to multiple data sets. Experimental results show that our method indeed discovers the common variables underlying high-dimensional nonlinear observations without assuming prior rigid model assumptions.

Deep learning, in the form of artificial neural networks, has achieved remarkable practical success in recent years, for a variety of difficult machine learning applications. However, a theoretical explanation for this remains a major open problem, since training neural networks involves optimizing a highly non-convex objective function, and is known to be computationally hard in the worst case. In this work, we study the \emph{geometric} structure of the associated non-convex objective function, in the context of ReLU networks and starting from a random initialization of the network parameters. We identify some conditions under which it becomes more favorable to optimization, in the sense of (i) High probability of initializing at a point from which there is a monotonically decreasing path to a global minimum; and (ii) High probability of initializing at a basin (suitably defined) with a small minimal objective value. A common theme in our results is that such properties are more likely to hold for larger ("overspecified") networks, which accords with some recent empirical and theoretical observations.

The choice of approximate posterior distribution is one of the core problems in variational inference. Most applications of variational inference employ simple families of posterior approximations in order to allow for efficient inference, focusing on mean-field or other simple structured approximations. This restriction has a significant impact on the quality of inferences made using variational methods. We introduce a new approach for specifying flexible, arbitrarily complex and scalable approximate posterior distributions. Our approximations are distributions constructed through a normalizing flow, whereby a simple initial density is transformed into a more complex one by applying a sequence of invertible transformations until a desired level of complexity is attained. We use this view of normalizing flows to develop categories of finite and infinitesimal flows and provide a unified view of approaches for constructing rich posterior approximations. We demonstrate that the theoretical advantages of having posteriors that better match the true posterior, combined with the scalability of amortized variational approaches, provides a clear improvement in performance and applicability of variational inference.

Artificial technology is the future of the world. Why not position yourself with one of the most lucrative industries of the next 50 years: biotech! IBIS World says about biotechnology: "The industry is expected to continue prospering over the next five years, with the Asia-Pacific region making significant investments to gain a foothold in the market..." According to Wikipedia: "Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2). Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biomanufacturing, etc." Biotech-now.org But in reality, health care outpaced the tech sector in 2014 by generating over 28 billion in economic activity and employing over 20% of San Francisco workers."

Developers are going to take an even bigger part in shaping iOS 10, macOS and watchOS 3. Native apps, instant launch, a dock, a Control Center and so on are now possible. We might have sniggered a bit when we saw the hardware specs of the Apple Watch when it was first unveiled last year, but watchOS 3 is now unlocking features that I think most - outside of Apple - could have dreamt of. So far, the Apple Watch has been an exclusive accessory for the iPhone, but now Apple is extending that by making it a handy Mac accessory, allowing owners to automatically unlock their laptop or desktop without needing a password. Apple is tentatively dipping its toe into the AI waters with technologies that can analyze your photos for faces and context - all done locally - and by applying LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) deep learning technologies to Messaging. I lost count of the number of times that "China" was said during the keynote.

Bolstered by a bevy of marketing partners and the exhibition muscle of its parent company's cinema chain, Legendary Entertainment's "Warcraft" smashed its way into the box-office record books last week in China, earning 156 million in its first five days in theaters. The long-awaited fantasy film based on Blizzard Entertainment's popular "Warcraft" video game series occupied nearly two-thirds of all screens on the mainland upon its opening Wednesday, with 120,000 screenings alone on its first day in theaters – a record, according to Dalian Wanda, which purchased Legendary this year. The opening-week performance of "Warcraft" already has outstripped the entire China runs of other major Hollywood films released this year including "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and "Kung Fu Panda 3." And the movie's China receipts have been some six times greater than its domestic earnings. Near the end of "Warcraft" -- an elaborate, exhausting cinematic collision of humans and Orcs, live actors and digital extras, geek enthusiasms and multiplex dollars -- the director Duncan Jones grants us a breather from all the thundering mayhem. Near the end of "Warcraft" -- an elaborate, exhausting cinematic collision of humans and Orcs, live actors and digital extras, geek enthusiasms and multiplex dollars -- the director Duncan Jones grants us a breather from all the thundering mayhem.

Once a year, when Slava Epstein was growing up in Moscow, his mother took him to the Exhibition of the Achievements of the National Economy, a showcase for the wonders of Soviet life. The expo featured many things--from industrial harvesters to Uzbek wine--but Epstein, who began going in the nineteen-sixties, when he was eight or nine, was interested primarily in one: the Cosmos Pavilion, a building the size of a hangar, with a ceiling shaped like a giant inverted parabola. Space fever was running high in the city. Since 1961, when Yuri Gagarin orbited the globe, unmanned vessels had been launched toward Mars and Venus. Beside the expo's entrance, the towering Monument to the Conquerors of Space depicted a probe swooping up to the heavens. The Pavilion displayed futuristic technology--Vostok rockets and Soyuz orbiters--but Epstein was less interested in the glories of advanced thruster design than in the glories of space. He wanted to devote himself to astronomy. When a textbook that he found on the topic began with algebraic formulas, he prodded his older brother to explain them. During high school, he enrolled in classes in physics and math at Moscow State University. His parents disapproved of his desired career: because he is half Jewish, Epstein would face harsh Soviet quotas limiting Jews in the study of physics, a field deemed relevant to national security. But after his first lecture the professor invited him for a walk, and affirmed what they had been saying all along. "Don't do it," he warned. Soviet Russia may have been a fatalist's paradise, but from a young age Epstein felt that he was hardwired for optimism. He convinced himself that what is truly important in science is the ability to connect ideas, no matter the field, and so he took up biology. Rather than telescopes, he would use microscopes, which he began taking with him on trips to the White Sea, near the Arctic Circle, to study protozoa along the shore--research that could be conducted with minimal state interference. Over time, he grew interested in even smaller, more ancient forms of life: bacteria. Studying microbes inevitably causes a reordering of one's perceptions: for more than two billion years, they were the only life on this planet, and they remain in many ways its dominant life form. To a remarkable extent, the microbial cosmos was less explored than the actual cosmos: precisely how the organisms evolve, replicate, fight, and communicate remains unclear. Nearly all of microbiology, Epstein eventually learned, was built on the study of a tiny fraction of microbial life, perhaps less than one per cent, because most bacteria could not be grown in a laboratory culture, the primary means of analyzing them. By the time he matured as a scientist, many researchers had given up trying to cultivate new species, writing off the majority as "dark matter"--a term used in astronomy for an inscrutable substance that may make up most of the universe but cannot be seen.

Technically, the E3 kicks off Tuesday, June 14, but we all know that much of the show's biggest news out will be announced before the show floor opens, at the parade of publisher "keynote" press conferences in the days prior to the show. With more and more publishers broadcasting live-streams, there will be more live content coming out of this year's show than ever before. We've rounded up some of the biggest broadcasts, including all of the press conferences, so you can follow along the news as it happens, hassle-free. As you may or may not have heard, EA backed out of E3 this year. Instead, it hosted its own fan event, EA Play, adjacent to the show.

Driving on today's roadways jammed with automobiles, it is easy to understand the challenges of integrating automated vehicles into the flow of traffic. How do you mix driverless vehicles with the difficult-to-predict movements of vehicles driven by people? How do you convince people to give up the sense of freedom that comes from driving themselves? Clean, electric, robot vehicles would be like R2D2's with seats. If we could use today's roads without human drivers, clean, electric, robot vehicles could already successfully navigate our cities, like R2D2s with seats.

Pepper is a child-height human-shaped robot described as having been designed to be a genuine companion that perceives and acts upon a range of human emotions. SoftBank, the Japanese telecom giant, acquired Aldebaran Robotics and commissioned the development of Pepper. Subsequently SoftBank joint ventured with Alibaba and Foxconn to form a development, production and marketing entity for the robots. There has been much fanfare about Pepper, particularly about it's ability to use its body movement and tone of voice to communicate in a way designed to feel natural and intuitive. The number of Peppers sold to date is newsworthy.