As deep neural networks are deployed in safety-critical domains such as autonomous driving and medical diagnosis, stakeholders need explanations that are interpretable but also trustworthy with formal guarantees. Existing XAI methods fall short: heuristic attribution techniques (e.g., LIME, Integrated Gradients) highlight influential features but offer no mathematical guarantees about decision boundaries, while formal methods verify robustness yet remain untargeted, analyzing the nearest boundary regardless of whether it represents a critical risk. In safety-critical systems, not all misclassifications carry equal consequences; confusing a "Stop" sign for a "60 kph" sign is far more dangerous than confusing it with a "No Passing" sign. We introduce ViTaX (Verified and Targeted Explanations), a formal XAI framework that generates targeted semifactual explanations with mathematical guarantees. For a given input (class y) and a user-specified critical alternative (class t), ViTaX: (1) identifies the minimal feature subset most sensitive to the y->t transition, and (2) applies formal reachability analysis to guarantee that perturbing these features by epsilon cannot flip the classification to t. We formalize this through Targeted epsilon-Robustness, certifying whether a feature subset remains robust under perturbation toward a specific target class. ViTaX is the first method to provide formally guaranteed explanations of a model's resilience against user-identified alternatives. Evaluations on MNIST, GTSRB, EMNIST, and TaxiNet demonstrate over 30% fidelity improvement with minimal explanation cardinality.

We derive a robust update rule for the online infinite hidden Markov model (iHMM) for when the streaming data contains outliers and the model is misspecified. Leveraging recent advances in generalised Bayesian inference, we define robustness via the posterior influence function (PIF), and provide conditions under which the online iHMM has bounded PIF. Imposing robustness inevitably induces an adaptation lag for regime switching. Our method, which is called Batched Robust iHMM (BR-iHMM), balances adaptivity and robustness with two additional tunable parameters. Across limit order book data, hourly electricity demand, and a synthetic high-dimensional linear system, BR-iHMM reduces one-step-ahead forecasting error by up to 67% relative to competing online Bayesian methods. Together with theoretical guarantees of bounded PIF, our results highlight the practicality of our approach for both forecasting and interpretable online learning.

Feature selection is a classical problem in statistics and machine learning, and it continues to remain an extremely challenging problem especially in the context of unknown non-linear relationships with dependent features. On the other hand, Shapley values are a classic solution concept from cooperative game theory that is widely used for feature attribution in general non-linear models with highly-dependent features. However, Shapley values are not naturally suited for feature selection since they tend to capture both direct effects from each feature to the response and indirect effects through other features. In this paper, we combine the advantages of Shapley values and adapt them to feature selection by proposing \emph{MinShap}, a modification of the Shapley value framework along with a suite of other related algorithms. In particular for MinShap, instead of taking the average marginal contributions over permutations of features, considers the minimum marginal contribution across permutations. We provide a theoretical foundation motivated by the faithfulness assumption in DAG (directed acyclic graphical models), a guarantee for the Type I error of MinShap, and show through numerical simulations and real data experiments that MinShap tends to outperform state-of-the-art feature selection algorithms such as LOCO, GCM and Lasso in terms of both accuracy and stability. We also introduce a suite of algorithms related to MinShap by using the multiple testing/p-value perspective that improves performance in lower-sample settings and provide supporting theoretical guarantees.

The Allbirds Pivot Is a Terrible Idea Right? Its turn to AI could be an escape hatch for a company with nothing to lose. This is an edition of The Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Walk into any Silicon Valley office in the late 2010s, and you'd probably see at least one pair of Allbirds. Woolly and eco-friendly, the sneakers once epitomized a certain kind of corporate culture (even Barack Obama was a fan), and the company behind them was valued at roughly $4 billion at its peak, in 2021.

About 1,000 to 1,200 black bears call the Nutmeg State home. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The state of Connecticut is probably not the first place that comes to mind when you think of bears . However, the Nutmeg State is home to about 1,000 to 1,200 black bears () bears.

Technology AI Robots can't replace guide dogs Man's best friend shares an'invisible care world' with humans that AI can't beat--yet. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Guide dogs are highly trained and can help people with vision loss navigate the world, open doors, and more. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. On paper, few physical jobs seem as ripe for AI takeover as that of the loyal service dog .

Imagine a chatbot that actually knows how to talk to you. Earlier this year, when I walked into a renovated loft in downtown San Francisco, the couches and tables were littered with flyers advertising an "emotionally intelligent real-time AI coach." They were for Amotions AI--one of several start-ups that had gathered that day to pitch investors, entrepreneurs, and tech workers. Pianpian Xu Guthrie, Amotions AI's founder, was eager to tell me more. The AI model observes video calls on your computer, she said, and gives you real-time tips based on the other person's tone and facial expression.

Vance grounded at White House as Iran peace talks in turmoil and Trump declares: 'I expect to be bombing' New'Hollywood dose' pill: A-listers hooked on'youth elixir' that dermatologists say is anti-ageing, shrinks pores, smooths wrinkles... and even banishes rosacea Days after we got engaged, the love of my life told me he'd killed a man and buried him in a bog. I reported him to police... but then I made this irreversible mistake Ark of the Covenant's final resting place pinpointed by archaeologists as fresh search begins Ritzy Bay Area town torn apart after teacher's daughter, 16, crashed car while speeding and killed four friends... then posted a TikTok video that poured fuel on the flames Jordon Hudson extends her control over Bill Belichick's empire with secret move that is set to leave his family and friends furious Two CIA officers killed in Mexico when their car skidded off ravine and exploded after meeting about bust of'largest ever drug lab' Life-threatening cantaloupe recall in four states upgraded to FDA's highest risk level... 'reasonable probability of death' AMANDA PLATELL: Why Sarah Ferguson - with the ghost of Princess Diana at her side - is ready to sensationally blow up the Royal Family. She knows ALL their secrets... Trump confronts Xi as US forces seize Chinese ship carrying mysterious'gift' to Iran Team USA Olympics star Noah Lyles slammed for'horrible' reaction to his wife's wedding dress reveal Humiliating moment runner celebrates winning marathon... only to be pipped at the line by rival in brutal finish Patriots coach Mike Vrabel reveals'difficult conversations' with his wife as he speaks out for the first time since Dianna Russini photo scandal How to lose weight when perimenopause sabotages your metabolism: I'm a trainer but when I hit 46, I piled on the pounds overnight. The new'posh' drug that's easier to order than Uber Eats - and why all my middle-class friends have ditched booze and cocaine for it: JANA HOCKING Grieving mother says she went to LA school every day to complain daughter was being bullied... then tragedy struck when the lead tormentor, 12, hurled metal water bottle at victim's head Autistic woman, 24, worked hard to build independent life for herself... now she's PARALYZED thanks to selfishness of stranger READ MORE: The five things you'll never see in a dream - including your phone It's never nice waking up and remembering a scary dream - but having night terrors might actually be a good thing, experts say. Researchers have found that feeling fear during your nighttime visions could indicate you're better at handling your emotions.

CT scans help a museum examine mummified remains that were sitting in its collections for half a century. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Multiple mummy specimens have been stored in the museum since it opened in 1965. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Not every mummy is treated equally.

Pain killers seem to work on lobsters, so being boiled alive may be just as gruesome as it sounds. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. A growing body of research suggests that the crustaceans can feel pain. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. When it's time to cook a lobster, the crustaceans are infamously boiled alive.