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From school bans to Sam Altman drama: the big developments in AI in 2023

Al Jazeera

The artificial intelligence (AI) industry began 2023 with a bang as schools and universities struggled with students using OpenAI's ChatGPT to help them with homework and essay writing. Less than a week into the year, New York City Public Schools banned ChatGPT – released weeks earlier to enormous fanfare – a move that would set the stage for much of the discussion around generative AI in 2023. As the buzz grew around Microsoft-backed ChatGPT and rivals like Google's Bard AI, Baidu's Ernie Chatbot and Meta's LLaMA, so did questions about how to handle a powerful new technology that had become accessible to the public overnight. In March, a group of more than 1,000 signatories, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, called for a pause in the development of more advanced AI in light of its "profound risks to society and humanity". While a pause did not happen, governments and regulatory authorities began rolling out new laws and regulations to set guardrails on the development and use of AI.


A Fully Automated Pipeline Using Swin Transformers for Deep Learning-Based Blood Segmentation on Head CT Scans After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

arXiv.org Machine Learning

Background: Accurate volumetric assessment of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a labor-intensive task performed with current manual and semiautomatic methods that might be relevant for its clinical and prognostic implications. In the present research, we sought to develop and validate an artificial intelligence-driven, fully automated blood segmentation tool for SAH patients via noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) scans employing a transformer-based Swin UNETR architecture. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed NCCT scans from patients with confirmed aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) utilizing the Swin UNETR for segmentation. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated against manually segmented ground truth data using metrics such as Dice score, intersection over union (IoU), the volumetric similarity index (VSI), the symmetric average surface distance (SASD), and sensitivity and specificity. A validation cohort from an external institution was included to test the generalizability of the model. Results: The model demonstrated high accuracy with robust performance metrics across the internal and external validation cohorts. Notably, it achieved high Dice coefficient (0.873), IoU (0.810), VSI (0.840), sensitivity (0.821) and specificity (0.996) values and a low SASD (1.866), suggesting proficiency in segmenting blood in SAH patients. The model's efficiency was reflected in its processing speed, indicating potential for real-time applications. Conclusions: Our Swin UNETR-based model offers significant advances in the automated segmentation of blood after aSAH on NCCT images. Despite the computational intensity, the model operates effectively on standard hardware with a user-friendly interface, facilitating broader clinical adoption. Further validation across diverse datasets is warranted to confirm its clinical reliability.


Interpretable and Explainable Machine Learning Methods for Predictive Process Monitoring: A Systematic Literature Review

arXiv.org Machine Learning

This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) on the explainability and interpretability of machine learning (ML) models within the context of predictive process mining, using the PRISMA framework. Given the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and ML systems, understanding the "black-box" nature of these technologies has become increasingly critical. Focusing specifically on the domain of process mining, this paper delves into the challenges of interpreting ML models trained with complex business process data. We differentiate between intrinsically interpretable models and those that require post-hoc explanation techniques, providing a comprehensive overview of the current methodologies and their applications across various application domains. Through a rigorous bibliographic analysis, this research offers a detailed synthesis of the state of explainability and interpretability in predictive process mining, identifying key trends, challenges, and future directions. Our findings aim to equip researchers and practitioners with a deeper understanding of how to develop and implement more trustworthy, transparent, and effective intelligent systems for predictive process analytics.


Automatic Essay Scoring in a Brazilian Scenario

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

The evolution of educational assessment methods has been influenced by technological advancements, particularly in the realm of Automatic Essay Scoring (AES)[1]. This technology, leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, has emerged as a promising tool in evaluating written responses, especially in large-scale settings. The adoption of AES has become increasingly pertinent in countries like Brazil, where standardized tests play a crucial role in determining access to higher education. However, the journey towards integrating AES in such contexts has unique challenges and considerations. One of the primary challenges faced in Brazil's educational assessment is the logistical and financial limitations associated with the traditional human grading system. With vast numbers of students participating in key examinations, the process of grading becomes not only time-consuming but also a significant financial burden on the educational system. This situation often leads to prolonged waiting periods. Recognizing these challenges, this research introduces an automatic grading algorithm specifically designed for Portuguese-language essays.


Uncovering Regulatory Affairs Complexity in Medical Products: A Qualitative Assessment Utilizing Open Coding and Natural Language Processing (NLP)

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

This study investigates the complexity of regulatory affairs in the medical device industry, a critical factor influencing market access and patient care. Through qualitative research, we sought expert insights to understand the factors contributing to this complexity. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 28 professionals from medical device companies, specializing in various aspects of regulatory affairs. These interviews were analyzed using open coding and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. The findings reveal key sources of complexity within the regulatory landscape, divided into five domains: (A) Regulatory language complexity, (B) Intricacies within the regulatory process, (C) Global-level complexities, (D) Database-related considerations, and (E) Product-level issues. The participants highlighted the need for strategies to streamline regulatory compliance, enhance interactions between regulatory bodies and industry players, and develop adaptable frameworks for rapid technological advancements. Emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and increased transparency, the study concludes that these elements are vital for establishing coherent and effective regulatory procedures in the medical device sector.


Messenger and Non-Coding RNA Design via Expected Partition Function and Continuous Optimization

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

The tasks of designing messenger RNAs and non-coding RNAs are discrete optimization problems, and several versions of these problems are NP-hard. As an alternative to commonly used local search methods, we formulate these problems as continuous optimization and develop a general framework for this optimization based on a new concept of "expected partition function". The basic idea is to start with a distribution over all possible candidate sequences, and extend the objective function from a sequence to a distribution. We then use gradient descent-based optimization methods to improve the extended objective function, and the distribution will gradually shrink towards a one-hot sequence (i.e., a single sequence). We consider two important case studies within this framework, the mRNA design problem optimizing for partition function (i.e., ensemble free energy) and the non-coding RNA design problem optimizing for conditional (i.e., Boltzmann) probability. In both cases, our approach demonstrate promising preliminary results.


TuPy-E: detecting hate speech in Brazilian Portuguese social media with a novel dataset and comprehensive analysis of models

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Social media has become integral to human interaction, providing a platform for communication and expression. However, the rise of hate speech on these platforms poses significant risks to individuals and communities. Detecting and addressing hate speech is particularly challenging in languages like Portuguese due to its rich vocabulary, complex grammar, and regional variations. To address this, we introduce TuPy-E, the largest annotated Portuguese corpus for hate speech detection. TuPy-E leverages an open-source approach, fostering collaboration within the research community. We conduct a detailed analysis using advanced techniques like BERT models, contributing to both academic understanding and practical applications


Solar Radiation Prediction in the UTEQ based on Machine Learning Models

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

This research explores the effectiveness of various Machine Learning (ML) models used to predicting solar radiation at the Central Campus of the State Technical University of Quevedo (UTEQ). The data was obtained from a pyranometer, strategically located in a high area of the campus. This instrument continuously recorded solar irradiance data since 2020, offering a comprehensive dataset encompassing various weather conditions and temporal variations. After a correlation analysis, temperature and the time of day were identified as the relevant meteorological variables that influenced the solar irradiance. Different machine learning algorithms such as Linear Regression, K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree, and Gradient Boosting were compared using the evaluation metrics Mean Squared Error (MSE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and the Coefficient of Determination ($R^2$). The study revealed that Gradient Boosting Regressor exhibited superior performance, closely followed by the Random Forest Regressor. These models effectively captured the non-linear patterns in solar radiation, as evidenced by their low MSE and high $R^2$ values. With the aim of assess the performance of our ML models, we developed a web-based tool for the Solar Radiation Forecasting in the UTEQ available at http://https://solarradiationforecastinguteq.streamlit.app/. The results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of our ML models in solar radiation prediction and contribute a practical utility in real-time solar radiation forecasting, aiding in efficient solar energy management.


Decision-focused predictions via pessimistic bilevel optimization: a computational study

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Dealing with uncertainty in optimization parameters is an important and longstanding challenge. Typically, uncertain parameters are predicted accurately, and then a deterministic optimization problem is solved. However, the decisions produced by this so-called \emph{predict-then-optimize} procedure can be highly sensitive to uncertain parameters. In this work, we contribute to recent efforts in producing \emph{decision-focused} predictions, i.e., to build predictive models that are constructed with the goal of minimizing a \emph{regret} measure on the decisions taken with them. We formulate the exact expected regret minimization as a pessimistic bilevel optimization model. Then, using duality arguments, we reformulate it as a non-convex quadratic optimization problem. Finally, we show various computational techniques to achieve tractability. We report extensive computational results on shortest-path instances with uncertain cost vectors. Our results indicate that our approach can improve training performance over the approach of Elmachtoub and Grigas (2022), a state-of-the-art method for decision-focused learning.


Culturally-Attuned Moral Machines: Implicit Learning of Human Value Systems by AI through Inverse Reinforcement Learning

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Constructing a universal moral code for artificial intelligence (AI) is difficult or even impossible, given that different human cultures have different definitions of morality and different societal norms. We therefore argue that the value system of an AI should be culturally attuned: just as a child raised in a particular culture learns the specific values and norms of that culture, we propose that an AI agent operating in a particular human community should acquire that community's moral, ethical, and cultural codes. How AI systems might acquire such codes from human observation and interaction has remained an open question. Here, we propose using inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) as a method for AI agents to acquire a culturally-attuned value system implicitly. We test our approach using an experimental paradigm in which AI agents use IRL to learn different reward functions, which govern the agents' moral values, by observing the behavior of different cultural groups in an online virtual world requiring real-time decision making. We show that an AI agent learning from the average behavior of a particular cultural group can acquire altruistic characteristics reflective of that group's behavior, and this learned value system can generalize to new scenarios requiring altruistic judgments. Our results provide, to our knowledge, the first demonstration that AI agents could potentially be endowed with the ability to continually learn their values and norms from observing and interacting with humans, thereby becoming attuned to the culture they are operating in.