Robot manipulation in real-world settings often requires adapting the robot's behavior to the current situation, such as by changing the sequences in which policies execute to achieve the desired task. Problematically, however, we show that composing a novel sequence of five deep RL options to perform a pick-and-place task is unlikely to successfully complete, even if their initiation and termination conditions align. We propose a framework to determine whether sequences will succeed a priori, and examine three approaches that adapt options to sequence successfully if they will not. Crucially, our adaptation methods consider the actual subset of points that the option is trained from or where it ends: (1) trains the second option to start where the first ends; (2) trains the first option to reach the centroid of where the second starts; and (3) trains the first option to reach the median of where the second starts. Our results show that our framework and adaptation methods have promise in adapting options to work in novel sequences.

Online spaces allow people to discuss important issues and make joint decisions, regardless of their location or time zone. However, without proper support and thoughtful design, these discussions often lack structure and politeness during the exchanges of opinions. Artificial intelligence (AI) represents an opportunity to support both participants and organizers of large-scale online participation processes. In this paper, we present an extension of adhocracy+, a large-scale open source participation platform, that provides two additional debate modules that are supported by AI to enhance the discussion quality and participant interaction.

We present a simple comparative framework for testing and developing uncertainty modeling in uncertain marching cubes implementations. The selection of a model to represent the probability distribution of uncertain values directly influences the memory use, run time, and accuracy of an uncertainty visualization algorithm. We use an entropy calculation directly on ensemble data to establish an expected result and then compare the entropy from various probability models, including uniform, Gaussian, histogram, and quantile models. Our results verify that models matching the distribution of the ensemble indeed match the entropy. We further show that fewer bins in nonparametric histogram models are more effective whereas large numbers of bins in quantile models approach data accuracy.

The retrieval augmented generation (RAG) system such as Retro has been shown to improve language modeling capabilities and reduce toxicity and hallucinations by retrieving from a database of non-parametric memory containing trillions of entries. We introduce Retro-li that shows retrieval can also help using a small-scale database, but it demands more accurate and better neighbors when searching in a smaller hence sparser non-parametric memory. This can be met by using a proper semantic similarity search. We further propose adding a regularization to the non-parametric memory for the first time: it significantly reduces perplexity when the neighbor search operations are noisy during inference, and it improves generalization when a domain shift occurs. We also show that Retro-li's non-parametric memory can potentially be implemented on analog in-memory computing hardware, exhibiting O(1) search time while causing noise in retrieving neighbors, with minimal (<1%) performance loss. Our code is available at: https://github.com/IBM/Retrieval-Enhanced-Transformer-Little.

Minutes after the presidential debate ended on Tuesday, Taylor Swift mobilized her enormous fanbase in support of Kamala Harris by endorsing her in an Instagram post that quickly garnered 8 million likes. Swift's decision wasn't altogether surprising, given that she supported Joe Biden in the 2020 election and recently offered hints, in true Taylor fashion, that she was headed in this direction. But what was especially notable in her Instagram post was that it spent as much time praising Kamala Harris as it did warning the public about the dangers of AI. "Recently I was made aware that AI of'me' falsely endorsing Donald Trump's presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation," Swift wrote. "It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."

Nevada has a new helper in its quest to plow through a backlog of unemployment claims: Google AI. Gizmodo reports that the initiative will task one of the company's cloud-based AI models with analyzing appeals hearing transcripts and suggesting whether cases should be approved. Welcome to the future, where a robot weighs in on whether you get the government money you requested. The Nevada Independent wrote in June that the AI model, trained on the state's unemployment law and policies, will analyze transcripts of virtual appeals hearings. It will then spit out a ruling, which a state employee will review for mistakes and decide whether to honor.

During last night's presidential debate, Donald Trump once again baselessly insisted that the only reason he lost in 2020 was coordinated fraud. "Our elections are bad," Trump declared--gesturing to the possibility that, should he lose in November, he will again contest the results. After every presidential election nowadays, roughly half the nation is in disbelief at the outcome--and many, in turn, search for excuses. Some of those claims are outright fabricated, such as Republican cries that 2020 was "stolen," which culminated in the riot at the Capitol on January 6. Others are rooted in facts but blown out of proportion, such as Democrats' outrage over Russian propaganda and the abject failure of Facebook's content moderation in 2016.

French authorities foiled three plots to attack the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris and other cities that hosted this year's events, the national counterterrorism prosecutor has said. Olivier Christen said on Wednesday the plots included plans to attack "Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel in Paris" during the July 26 – August 11 Olympic competition. The prosecutor told broadcaster France Info that "the Israeli team itself was not specifically targeted." He did not give further details. Five people, including a minor, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the three foiled plots against the Summer Games, which were held against the backdrop of Israel's assault on Gaza and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier has the latest on the pros and cons of the bombshell developments on'Special Report.' APPLE'S BIG REVEAL: With slightly larger, slimmer bezels and a new camera system, these devices are designed to attract both casual and professional users alike. FBI Director Christopher Wray, right, speaks during a meeting of the Justice Department's Election Threats Task Force at the Department of Justice, on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Washington, as Attorney General Merrick Garland, left, looks on. MIXED MESSAGE: Experts say the Kremlin could include artificial intelligence in efforts to manipulate November's presidential elections through influence schemes. NO MORE CHORES: Chinese startup Astribot has officially launched its latest creation, the S1 humanoid robot, in a video that showcases its impressive range of household capabilities.

In a government inquiry about AI adoption in Australia, Meta's global privacy director Melinda Claybaugh was asked whether her company has been collecting Australians' data to train its generative AI technology. According to ABC News, Claybaugh initially denied the claim, but upon being pressed, she ultimately admitted that Meta scrapes all the photos and texts in all Facebook and Instagram posts from as far back as 2007, unless the user had set their posts to private. Further, she admitted that the company isn't offering Australians an opt-out option like it does to users in the European Union. Claybaugh said that Meta doesn't scrape the accounts of users under 18 years old, but she admitted that the company still collects their photos and other information if they're posted on their parents' or guardians' accounts. She couldn't answer, however, if the company collects data from previous years once a user turns 18. Upon being asked why Meta doesn't offer Australians the option not to consent to data collection, Claybaugh said that it exists in the EU "in response to a very specific legal frame," which most likely pertains to the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).