Optimal stopping is a fundamental problem in optimization that has found applications in risk management, finance, economics, and recently in the fields of computer science. We extend the standard framework to a multi-agent setting, named multi-agent optimal stopping (MAOS), where a group of agents cooperatively solves finite-space, discrete-time optimal stopping problems. Solving the finite-agent case is computationally prohibitive when the number of agents is very large, so this work studies the mean field optimal stopping (MFOS) problem, obtained as the number of agents approaches infinity. We prove that MFOS provides a good approximate solution to MAOS. We also prove a dynamic programming principle (DPP), based on the theory of mean field control. We then propose two deep learning methods: one simulates full trajectories to learn optimal decisions, whereas the other leverages DPP with backward induction; both methods train neural networks for the optimal stopping decisions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches through numerical experiments on 6 different problems in spatial dimension up to 300. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to study MFOS in finite space and discrete time, and to propose efficient and scalable computational methods for this type of problem.

This paper evaluates the performance of Large Language Models (LLMs) in authorship attribution and authorship verification tasks for Latin texts of the Patristic Era. The study showcases that LLMs can be robust in zero-shot authorship verification even on short texts without sophisticated feature engineering. Yet, the models can also be easily "mislead" by semantics. The experiments also demonstrate that steering the model's authorship analysis and decision-making is challenging, unlike what is reported in the studies dealing with high-resource modern languages. Although LLMs prove to be able to beat, under certain circumstances, the traditional baselines, obtaining a nuanced and truly explainable decision requires at best a lot of experimentation.

In recent years, the demand for automated SQL generation has increased significantly, driven by the need for efficient data querying in various applications. However, generating accurate SQL queries remains a challenge due to the complexity and variability of natural language inputs. This paper introduces a novel few-shot learning-based approach for error correction in SQL generation, enhancing the accuracy of generated queries by selecting the most suitable few-shot error correction examples for a given natural language question (NLQ). In our experiments with the open-source Gretel dataset, the proposed model offers a 39.2% increase in fixing errors from the baseline approach with no error correction and a 10% increase from a simple error correction method. The proposed technique leverages embedding-based similarity measures to identify the closest matches from a repository of few-shot examples. Each example comprises an incorrect SQL query, the resulting error, the correct SQL query, and detailed steps to transform the incorrect query into the correct one. By employing this method, the system can effectively guide the correction of errors in newly generated SQL queries. Our approach demonstrates significant improvements in SQL generation accuracy by providing contextually relevant examples that facilitate error identification and correction. The experimental results highlight the effectiveness of embedding-based selection in enhancing the few-shot learning process, leading to more precise and reliable SQL query generation. This research contributes to the field of automated SQL generation by offering a robust framework for error correction, paving the way for more advanced and user-friendly database interaction tools.

Robotics has gained significant attention due to its autonomy and ability to automate in the nuclear industry. However, the increasing complexity of robots has led to a growing demand for advanced simulation and control methods to predict robot behavior and optimize plant performance. Most existing digital twins only address parts of systems and do not offer an overall design of nuclear power plants. Furthermore, they are often designed for specific algorithms or tasks, making them unsuitable for broader research applications or other potential projects. In response, we propose a comprehensive nuclear power plant designed to enhance real-time monitoring, operational efficiency, and predictive maintenance. We selected to model a full-scope nuclear power plant in Unreal Engine 5 to incorporate the complexities and various phenomena. The high-resolution simulation environment is integrated with a General Pressurized Water Reactor Simulator, a high-fidelity physics-driven software, to create a realistic flow of nuclear power plant and a real-time updating virtual environment. Furthermore, the virtual environment provides various features and a Python bridge for researchers to test custom algorithms and frameworks easily. The digital twin's performance is presented, and several research ideas - such as multi-robot task scheduling and robot navigation in the radiation area - using implemented features are presented.

Hierarchical text classification (HTC) is the task of assigning labels to a text within a structured space organized as a hierarchy. Recent works treat HTC as a conventional multilabel classification problem, therefore evaluating it as such. We instead propose to evaluate models based on specifically designed hierarchical metrics and we demonstrate the intricacy of metric choice and prediction inference method. We introduce a new challenging dataset and we evaluate fairly, recent sophisticated models, comparing them with a range of simple but strong baselines, including a new theoretically motivated loss. Finally, we show that those baselines are very often competitive with the latest models. This highlights the importance of carefully considering the evaluation methodology when proposing new methods for HTC. Code implementation and dataset are available at \url{https://github.com/RomanPlaud/revisitingHTC}.

Enhancing the adaptive capabilities of large language models is a critical pursuit in both research and application. Traditional fine-tuning methods require substantial data and computational resources, especially for enhancing specific capabilities, while in-context learning is limited by the need for appropriate demonstrations and efficient token usage. Inspired by the expression of in-context learned capabilities through task vectors and the concept of modularization, we propose \alg, a framework consisting of two modules designed to effectively store and reuse task vectors to elicit the diverse capabilities of models without additional training or inference tokens. Our comprehensive experiments and analysis demonstrate that our pipeline is highly transferable across different input formats, tasks, and model architectures. ELICIT serves as a plug-and-play performance booster to enable adaptive elicitation of model capabilities. By externally storing and reusing vectors that represent in-context learned capabilities, \alg not only demonstrates the potential to operate modular capabilities but also significantly enhances the performance, versatility, adaptability, and scalability of large language models. Our code will be publicly available at https://github.com/LINs-lab/ELICIT.

Multimodal attributed graphs (MAGs) are prevalent in various real-world scenarios and generally contain two kinds of knowledge: (a) Attribute knowledge is mainly supported by the attributes of different modalities contained in nodes (entities) themselves, such as texts and images. (b) Topology knowledge, on the other hand, is provided by the complex interactions posed between nodes. The cornerstone of MAG representation learning lies in the seamless integration of multimodal attributes and topology. Recent advancements in Pre-trained Language/Vision models (PLMs/PVMs) and Graph neural networks (GNNs) have facilitated effective learning on MAGs, garnering increased research interest. However, the absence of meaningful benchmark datasets and standardized evaluation procedures for MAG representation learning has impeded progress in this field. In this paper, we propose Multimodal Attribute Graph Benchmark (MAGB)}, a comprehensive and diverse collection of challenging benchmark datasets for MAGs. The MAGB datasets are notably large in scale and encompass a wide range of domains, spanning from e-commerce networks to social networks. In addition to the brand-new datasets, we conduct extensive benchmark experiments over MAGB with various learning paradigms, ranging from GNN-based and PLM-based methods, to explore the necessity and feasibility of integrating multimodal attributes and graph topology. In a nutshell, we provide an overview of the MAG datasets, standardized evaluation procedures, and present baseline experiments. The entire MAGB project is publicly accessible at https://github.com/sktsherlock/ATG.

In this paper, we discuss learning algorithms and their importance in different types of applications which includes training to identify important patterns and features in a straightforward, easy-to-understand manner. We will review the main concepts of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and hybrid models. Some important subsets of Machine Learning algorithms such as supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning are also discussed in this paper. These techniques can be used for some important tasks like prediction, classification, and segmentation. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are used for image and video processing and many more applications. We dive into the architecture of CNNs and how to integrate CNNs with ML algorithms to build hybrid models. This paper explores the vulnerability of learning algorithms to noise, leading to misclassification. We further discuss the integration of learning algorithms with Large Language Models (LLM) to generate coherent responses applicable to many domains such as healthcare, marketing, and finance by learning important patterns from large volumes of data. Furthermore, we discuss the next generation of learning algorithms and how we may have an unified Adaptive and Dynamic Network to perform important tasks. Overall, this article provides brief overview of learning algorithms, exploring their current state, applications and future direction.

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the data preparation pipeline developed for the OpenGPT-X project, a large-scale initiative aimed at creating open and high-performance multilingual large language models (LLMs). The project goal is to deliver models that cover all major European languages, with a particular focus on real-world applications within the European Union. We explain all data processing steps, starting with the data selection and requirement definition to the preparation of the final datasets for model training. We distinguish between curated data and web data, as each of these categories is handled by distinct pipelines, with curated data undergoing minimal filtering and web data requiring extensive filtering and deduplication. This distinction guided the development of specialized algorithmic solutions for both pipelines. In addition to describing the processing methodologies, we provide an in-depth analysis of the datasets, increasing transparency and alignment with European data regulations. Finally, we share key insights and challenges faced during the project, offering recommendations for future endeavors in large-scale multilingual data preparation for LLMs.

Computational approaches to predicting mental health conditions in social media have been substantially explored in the past years. Multiple surveys have been published on this topic, providing the community with comprehensive accounts of the research in this area. Among all mental health conditions, depression is the most widely studied due to its worldwide prevalence. The COVID-19 global pandemic, starting in early 2020, has had a great impact on mental health worldwide. Harsh measures employed by governments to slow the spread of the virus (e.g., lockdowns) and the subsequent economic downturn experienced in many countries have significantly impacted people's lives and mental health. Studies have shown a substantial increase of above 50% in the rate of depression in the population. In this context, we present a survey on natural language processing (NLP) approaches to modeling depression in social media, providing the reader with a post-COVID-19 outlook. This survey contributes to the understanding of the impacts of the pandemic on modeling depression in social media. We outline how state-of-the-art approaches and new datasets have been used in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, we also discuss ethical issues in collecting and processing mental health data, considering fairness, accountability, and ethics.