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NASA's New AI Model To Defend Earth From Space Weather
Like a tornado siren for life-threatening storms in America's heartland, a new computer model that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and NASA satellite data could sound the alarm for dangerous space weather. The model uses AI to analyze spacecraft measurements of the solar wind (an unrelenting stream of material from the Sun) and predict where an impending solar storm will strike, anywhere on Earth, with 30 minutes of advance warning. This could provide just enough time to prepare for these storms and prevent severe impacts on power grids and other critical infrastructure. The solar wind is a gusty stream of material that flows from the Sun in all directions, all the time, carrying the Sun's magnetic field out into space. While it is much less dense than wind on Earth, it is much faster, typically blowing at speeds of one to two million miles per hour.
A brief history of artificial intelligence
Multiple factors have driven the development of artificial intelligence (AI) over the years. The ability to swiftly and effectively collect and analyze enormous amounts of data has been made possible by computing technology advancements, which have been a significant contributing factor. Another factor is the demand for automated systems that can complete activities that are too risky, challenging or time-consuming for humans. Also, there are now more opportunities for AI to solve real-world issues, thanks to the development of the internet and the accessibility of enormous amounts of digital data. Moreover, societal and cultural issues have influenced AI.
Bracing for Impact: NASA's New AI Model To Defend Earth From Dangerous Space Weather
Intense solar storms can cause electrical blackouts. Like a tornado siren for life-threatening storms in America's heartland, a new computer model that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and NASA satellite data could sound the alarm for dangerous space weather. The model uses AI to analyze spacecraft measurements of the solar wind (an unrelenting stream of material from the Sun) and predict where an impending solar storm will strike, anywhere on Earth, with 30 minutes of advance warning. This could provide just enough time to prepare for these storms and prevent severe impacts on power grids and other critical infrastructure. The solar wind is a gusty stream of material that flows from the Sun in all directions, all the time, carrying the Sun's magnetic field out into space.
New AI upgrade could be indistinguishable from humans: expert
AI research lab OpenAI is expected to roll out GPT-5 technology later this year, which could make generative AI indistinguishable from a human, according to a tech insider and expert. "I have been told that gpt5 is scheduled to complete training this December and that OpenAI expects it to achieve AGI," tech entrepreneur and developer Siqi Chen tweeted last week. Chen is the co-founder of Runway Financial, a financial software company, the former vice president of growth at food delivery service Postmates, and a member of the board of directors at virtual reality firm Sandbox VR. AGI stands for "artificial general intelligence," which is defined when AI systems are able to comprehend a task or concept the same as humans. "Which means we will all hotly debate as to whether it actually achieves AGI," Chen added.
Leveraging Predictive Models for Adaptive Sampling of Spatiotemporal Fluid Processes
Manjanna, Sandeep, Jiahao, Tom Z., Hsieh, M. Ani
Persistent monitoring of a spatiotemporal fluid process requires data sampling and predictive modeling of the process being monitored. In this paper we present PASST algorithm: Predictive-model based Adaptive Sampling of a Spatio-Temporal process. PASST is an adaptive robotic sampling algorithm that leverages predictive models to efficiently and persistently monitor a fluid process in a given region of interest. Our algorithm makes use of the predictions from a learned prediction model to plan a path for an autonomous vehicle to adaptively and efficiently survey the region of interest. In turn, the sampled data is used to obtain better predictions by giving an updated initial state to the predictive model. For predictive model, we use Knowledged-based Neural Ordinary Differential Equations to train models of fluid processes. These models are orders of magnitude smaller in size and run much faster than fluid data obtained from direct numerical simulations of the partial differential equations that describe the fluid processes or other comparable computational fluids models. For path planning, we use reinforcement learning based planning algorithms that use the field predictions as reward functions. We evaluate our adaptive sampling path planning algorithm on both numerically simulated fluid data and real-world nowcast ocean flow data to show that we can sample the spatiotemporal field in the given region of interest for long time horizons. We also evaluate PASST algorithm's generalization ability to sample from fluid processes that are not in the training repertoire of the learned models.
Multi model LSTM architecture for Track Association based on Automatic Identification System Data
Syed, Md Asif Bin, Ahmed, Imtiaz
For decades, track association has been a challenging problem in marine surveillance, which involves the identification and association of vessel observations over time. However, the Automatic Identification System (AIS) has provided a new opportunity for researchers to tackle this problem by offering a large database of dynamic and geo-spatial information of marine vessels. With the availability of such large databases, researchers can now develop sophisticated models and algorithms that leverage the increased availability of data to address the track association challenge effectively. Furthermore, with the advent of deep learning, track association can now be approached as a data-intensive problem. In this study, we propose a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) based multi-model framework for track association. LSTM is a recurrent neural network architecture that is capable of processing multivariate temporal data collected over time in a sequential manner, enabling it to predict current vessel locations from historical observations. Based on these predictions, a geodesic distance based similarity metric is then utilized to associate the unclassified observations to their true tracks (vessels). We evaluate the performance of our approach using standard performance metrics, such as precision, recall, and F1 score, which provide a comprehensive summary of the accuracy of the proposed framework.
A Tutorial Introduction to Reinforcement Learning
In this paper, we present a brief survey of Reinforcement Learning (RL), with particular emphasis on Stochastic Approximation (SA) as a unifying theme. The scope of the paper includes Markov Reward Processes, Markov Decision Processes, Stochastic Approximation methods, and widely used algorithms such as Temporal Difference Learning and Q-learning. Reinforcement Learning is a vast subject, and this brief survey can barely do justice to the topic. There are several excellent texts on RL, such as [4, 27, 34, 33]. The dynamics of the Stochastic Approximation (SA) algorithm are analyzed in [25, 22, 3, 23, 2, 9, 10]. The interested reader may consult those sources for more information. In this survey, we use the phrase "reinforcement learning" to refer to decision-making with uncertain models, and in addition, current actions alter the future behavior of the system. Therefore, if the same action is taken at a future time, the consequences might not be the same.
Safety Embedded Stochastic Optimal Control of Networked Multi-Agent Systems via Barrier States
Song, Lin, Zhao, Pan, Wan, Neng, Hovakimyan, Naira
This paper presents a novel approach for achieving safe stochastic optimal control in networked multi-agent systems (MASs). The proposed method incorporates barrier states (BaSs) into the system dynamics to embed safety constraints. To accomplish this, the networked MAS is factorized into multiple subsystems, and each one is augmented with BaSs for the central agent. The optimal control law is obtained by solving the joint Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation on the augmented subsystem, which guarantees safety via the boundedness of the BaSs. The BaS-based optimal control technique yields safe control actions while maintaining optimality. The safe optimal control solution is approximated using path integrals. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, numerical simulations are conducted on a cooperative UAV team in two different scenarios.
Persistence of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Australia: The impact of fluctuating social distancing
Chang, Sheryl L., Nguyen, Quang Dang, Martiniuk, Alexandra, Sintchenko, Vitali, Sorrell, Tania C., Prokopenko, Mikhail
We modelled emergence and spread of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Australia between December 2021 and June 2022. This pandemic stage exhibited a diverse epidemiological profile with emergence of co-circulating sub-lineages of Omicron, further complicated by differences in social distancing behaviour which varied over time. Our study delineated distinct phases of the Omicron-associated pandemic stage, and retrospectively quantified the adoption of social distancing measures, fluctuating over different time periods in response to the observable incidence dynamics. We also modelled the corresponding disease burden, in terms of hospitalisations, intensive care unit occupancy, and mortality. Supported by good agreement between simulated and actual health data, our study revealed that the nonlinear dynamics observed in the daily incidence and disease burden were determined not only by introduction of sub-lineages of Omicron, but also by the fluctuating adoption of social distancing measures. Our high-resolution model can be used in design and evaluation of public health interventions during future crises.
PADME-SoSci: A Platform for Analytics and Distributed Machine Learning for the Social Sciences
Boukhers, Zeyd, Bleier, Arnim, Yediel, Yeliz Ucer, Hienstorfer-Heitmann, Mio, Jaberansary, Mehrshad, Koumpis, Adamantios, Beyan, Oya
Data privacy and ownership are significant in social data science, raising legal and ethical concerns. Sharing and analyzing data is difficult when different parties own different parts of it. An approach to this challenge is to apply de-identification or anonymization techniques to the data before collecting it for analysis. However, this can reduce data utility and increase the risk of re-identification. To address these limitations, we present PADME, a distributed analytics tool that federates model implementation and training. PADME uses a federated approach where the model is implemented and deployed by all parties and visits each data location incrementally for training. This enables the analysis of data across locations while still allowing the model to be trained as if all data were in a single location. Training the model on data in its original location preserves data ownership. Furthermore, the results are not provided until the analysis is completed on all data locations to ensure privacy and avoid bias in the results.