Distributed, online data mining systems have emerged as a result of applications requiring analysis of large amounts of correlated and high-dimensional data produced by multiple distributed data sources. We propose a distributed online data classification framework where data is gathered by distributed data sources and processed by a heterogeneous set of distributed learners which learn online, at run-time, how to classify the different data streams either by using their locally available classification functions or by helping each other by classifying each other's data. Importantly, since the data is gathered at different locations, sending the data to another learner to process incurs additional costs such as delays, and hence this will be only beneficial if the benefits obtained from a better classification will exceed the costs. We model the problem of joint classification by the distributed and heterogeneous learners from multiple data sources as a distributed contextual bandit problem where each data is characterized by a specific context. We develop a distributed online learning algorithm for which we can prove sublinear regret. Compared to prior work in distributed online data mining, our work is the first to provide analytic regret results characterizing the performance of the proposed algorithm.

As the education fees are becoming more expensive, more students apply for scholarships. Consequently, hundreds and even thousands of applications need to be handled by the sponsor. To solve the problems, some alternatives based on several attributes (criteria) need to be selected. In order to make a decision on such fuzzy problems, Fuzzy Multiple Attribute Decision Making (FMDAM) can be applied. In this study, Unified Modeling Language (UML) in FMADM with TOPSIS and Weighted Product (WP) methods is applied to select the candidates for academic and non-academic scholarships at Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga. Data used were a crisp and fuzzy data. The results show that TOPSIS and Weighted Product FMADM methods can be used to select the most suitable candidates to receive the scholarships since the preference values applied in this method can show applicants with the highest eligibility

Independent from the still ongoing research in measuring individual intelligence, we anticipate and provide a framework for measuring collective intelligence. Collective intelligence refers to the idea that several individuals can collaborate in order to achieve high levels of intelligence. We present thus some ideas on how the intelligence of a group can be measured and simulate such tests. We will however focus here on groups of artificial intelligence agents (i.e., machines). We will explore how a group of agents is able to choose the appropriate problem and to specialize for a variety of tasks. This is a feature which is an important contributor to the increase of intelligence in a group (apart from the addition of more agents and the improvement due to common decision making). Our results reveal some interesting results about how (collective) intelligence can be modeled, about how collective intelligence tests can be designed and about the underlying dynamics of collective intelligence. As it will be useful for our simulations, we provide also some improvements of the threshold allocation model originally used in the area of swarm intelligence but further generalized here.

In this report a computational study of ConceptNet 4 is performed using tools from the field of network analysis. Part I describes the process of extracting the data from the SQL database that is available online, as well as how the closure of the input among the assertions in the English language is computed. This part also performs a validation of the input as well as checks for the consistency of the entire database. Part II investigates the structural properties of ConceptNet 4. Different graphs are induced from the knowledge base by fixing different parameters. The degrees and the degree distributions are examined, the number and sizes of connected components, the transitivity and clustering coefficient, the cores, information related to shortest paths in the graphs, and cliques. Part III investigates non-overlapping, as well as overlapping communities that are found in ConceptNet 4. Finally, Part IV describes an investigation on rules.

In this article we introduce the Arcade Learning Environment (ALE): both a challenge problem and a platform and methodology for evaluating the development of general, domain-independent AI technology. ALE provides an interface to hundreds of Atari 2600 game environments, each one different, interesting, and designed to be a challenge for human players. ALE presents significant research challenges for reinforcement learning, model learning, model-based planning, imitation learning, transfer learning, and intrinsic motivation. Most importantly, it provides a rigorous testbed for evaluating and comparing approaches to these problems. We illustrate the promise of ALE by developing and benchmarking domain-independent agents designed using well-established AI techniques for both reinforcement learning and planning. In doing so, we also propose an evaluation methodology made possible by ALE, reporting empirical results on over 55 different games. All of the software, including the benchmark agents, is publicly available.

In this article we introduce the Arcade Learning Environment (ALE): both a challenge problem and a platform and methodology for evaluating the development of general, domain-independent AI technology. ALE provides an interface to hundreds of Atari 2600 game environments, each one different, interesting, and designed to be a challenge for human players. ALE presents significant research challenges for reinforcement learning, model learning, model-based planning, imitation learning, transfer learning, and intrinsic motivation. Most importantly, it provides a rigorous testbed for evaluating and comparing approaches to these problems. We illustrate the promise of ALE by developing and benchmarking domain-independent agents designed using well-established AI techniques for both reinforcement learning and planning. In doing so, we also propose an evaluation methodology made possible by ALE, reporting empirical results on over 55 different games. All of the software, including the benchmark agents, is publicly available.

We consider the stochastic approximation problem where a convex function has to be minimized, given only the knowledge of unbiased estimates of its gradients at certain points, a framework which includes machine learning methods based on the minimization of the empirical risk. We focus on problems without strong convexity, for which all previously known algorithms achieve a convergence rate for function values of O(1/n^{1/2}). We consider and analyze two algorithms that achieve a rate of O(1/n) for classical supervised learning problems. For least-squares regression, we show that averaged stochastic gradient descent with constant step-size achieves the desired rate. For logistic regression, this is achieved by a simple novel stochastic gradient algorithm that (a) constructs successive local quadratic approximations of the loss functions, while (b) preserving the same running time complexity as stochastic gradient descent. For these algorithms, we provide a non-asymptotic analysis of the generalization error (in expectation, and also in high probability for least-squares), and run extensive experiments on standard machine learning benchmarks showing that they often outperform existing approaches.

Online learning with delayed feedback has received increasing attention recently due to its several applications in distributed, web-based learning problems. In this paper we provide a systematic study of the topic, and analyze the effect of delay on the regret of online learning algorithms. Somewhat surprisingly, it turns out that delay increases the regret in a multiplicative way in adversarial problems, and in an additive way in stochastic problems. We give meta-algorithms that transform, in a black-box fashion, algorithms developed for the non-delayed case into ones that can handle the presence of delays in the feedback loop. Modifications of the well-known UCB algorithm are also developed for the bandit problem with delayed feedback, with the advantage over the meta-algorithms that they can be implemented with lower complexity.

We study the power of different types of adaptive (nonoblivious) adversaries in the setting of prediction with expert advice, under both full-information and bandit feedback. We measure the player's performance using a new notion of regret, also known as policy regret, which better captures the adversary's adaptiveness to the player's behavior. In a setting where losses are allowed to drift, we characterize ---in a nearly complete manner--- the power of adaptive adversaries with bounded memories and switching costs. In particular, we show that with switching costs, the attainable rate with bandit feedback is $\widetilde{\Theta}(T^{2/3})$. Interestingly, this rate is significantly worse than the $\Theta(\sqrt{T})$ rate attainable with switching costs in the full-information case. Via a novel reduction from experts to bandits, we also show that a bounded memory adversary can force $\widetilde{\Theta}(T^{2/3})$ regret even in the full information case, proving that switching costs are easier to control than bounded memory adversaries. Our lower bounds rely on a new stochastic adversary strategy that generates loss processes with strong dependencies.

We introduce online learning algorithms which are independent of feature scales, proving regret bounds dependent on the ratio of scales existent in the data rather than the absolute scale. This has several useful effects: there is no need to pre-normalize data, the test-time and test-space complexity are reduced, and the algorithms are more robust.