Street scene datasets, collected from Street View or dashboard cameras, offer a promising means of detecting urban objects and incidents like street flooding. However, a major challenge in using these datasets is their lack of reliable labels: there are myriad types of incidents, many types occur rarely, and ground-truth measures of where incidents occur are lacking. Here, we propose BayFlood, a two-stage approach which circumvents this difficulty. First, we perform zero-shot classification of where incidents occur using a pretrained vision-language model (VLM). Second, we fit a spatial Bayesian model on the VLM classifications. The zero-shot approach avoids the need to annotate large training sets, and the Bayesian model provides frequent desiderata in urban settings - principled measures of uncertainty, smoothing across locations, and incorporation of external data like stormwater accumulation zones. We comprehensively validate this two-stage approach, showing that VLMs provide strong zero-shot signal for floods across multiple cities and time periods, the Bayesian model improves out-of-sample prediction relative to baseline methods, and our inferred flood risk correlates with known external predictors of risk. Having validated our approach, we show it can be used to improve urban flood detection: our analysis reveals 113,738 people who are at high risk of flooding overlooked by current methods, identifies demographic biases in existing methods, and suggests locations for new flood sensors. More broadly, our results showcase how Bayesian modeling of zero-shot LM annotations represents a promising paradigm because it avoids the need to collect large labeled datasets and leverages the power of foundation models while providing the expressiveness and uncertainty quantification of Bayesian models.

We introduce MusicInfuser, an approach for generating high-quality dance videos that are synchronized to a specified music track. Rather than attempting to design and train a new multimodal audio-video model, we show how existing video diffusion models can be adapted to align with musical inputs by introducing lightweight music-video cross-attention and a low-rank adapter. Unlike prior work requiring motion capture data, our approach fine-tunes only on dance videos. MusicInfuser achieves high-quality music-driven video generation while preserving the flexibility and generative capabilities of the underlying models. We introduce an evaluation framework using Video-LLMs to assess multiple dimensions of dance generation quality. The project page and code are available at https://susunghong.github.io/MusicInfuser.

Adaptive traffic signal control (ATSC) can effectively reduce vehicle travel times by dynamically adjusting signal timings but poses a critical challenge in real-world scenarios due to the complexity of real-time decision-making in dynamic and uncertain traffic conditions. The burgeoning field of intelligent transportation systems, bolstered by artificial intelligence techniques and extensive data availability, offers new prospects for the implementation of ATSC. In this study, we introduce a parallel hybrid action space reinforcement learning model (PH-DDPG) that optimizes traffic signal phase and duration of traffic signals simultaneously, eliminating the need for sequential decision-making seen in traditional two-stage models. Our model features a task-specific parallel hybrid action space tailored for adaptive traffic control, which directly outputs discrete phase selections and their associated continuous duration parameters concurrently, thereby inherently addressing dynamic traffic adaptation through unified parametric optimization. %Our model features a unique parallel hybrid action space that allows for the simultaneous output of each action and its optimal parameters, streamlining the decision-making process. Furthermore, to ascertain the robustness and effectiveness of this approach, we executed ablation studies focusing on the utilization of a random action parameter mask within the critic network, which decouples the parameter space for individual actions, facilitating the use of preferable parameters for each action. The results from these studies confirm the efficacy of this method, distinctly enhancing real-world applicability

Rapid evolution of territories due to climate change and human impact requires prompt and effective updates to geospatial databases maintained by the National Mapping Agency. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of change detection methods tailored for the operational updating of large-scale geographic databases. This review first outlines the fundamental definition of change, emphasizing its multifaceted nature, from temporal to semantic characterization. It categorizes automatic change detection methods into four main families: rule-based, statistical, machine learning, and simulation methods. The strengths, limitations, and applicability of every family are discussed in the context of various input data. Then, key applications for National Mapping Agencies are identified, particularly the optimization of geospatial database updating, change-based phenomena, and dynamics monitoring. Finally, the paper highlights the current challenges for leveraging change detection such as the variability of change definition, the missing of relevant large-scale datasets, the diversity of input data, the unstudied no-change detection, the human in the loop integration and the operational constraints. The discussion underscores the necessity for ongoing innovation in change detection techniques to address the future needs of geographic information systems for national mapping agencies.

Modern neural network architectures have achieved remarkable accuracies but remain highly dependent on their training data, often lacking interpretability in their learned mappings. While effective on large datasets, they tend to overfit on smaller ones. Probabilistic neural networks, such as those utilizing variational inference, address this limitation by incorporating uncertainty estimation through weight distributions rather than point estimates. However, standard variational inference often relies on a single-density approximation, which can lead to poor posterior estimates and hinder model performance. We propose Boosted Bayesian Neural Networks (BBNN), a novel approach that enhances neural network weight distribution approximations using Boosting Variational Inference (BVI). By iteratively constructing a mixture of densities, BVI expands the approximating family, enabling a more expressive posterior that leads to improved generalization and uncertainty estimation. While this approach increases computational complexity, it significantly enhances accuracy an essential tradeoff, particularly in high-stakes applications such as medical diagnostics, where false negatives can have severe consequences. Our experimental results demonstrate that BBNN achieves ~5% higher accuracy compared to conventional neural networks while providing superior uncertainty quantification. This improvement highlights the effectiveness of leveraging a mixture-based variational family to better approximate the posterior distribution, ultimately advancing probabilistic deep learning.

Traditional statistical inference techniques, such as likelihood ratio tests, have seen renewed interest in recent years, driven in part by the growing emphasis on methodologies based on e-values and e-processes, rather than conventional p-values. Unlike p-values, e-values possess several properties that make them particularly appealing for modern data science applications. In particular, e-value-based methods have played an instrumental role in advancing multiple and safe testing (Grünwald et al., 2020; Vovk and Wang, 2021; Shafer, 2021; Wang and Ramdas, 2022), anytime-valid inference (Waudby-Smith and Ramdas, 2024), and asymptotic confidence sequences (Waudby-Smith et al., 2024). This list is far from exhaustive, and we refer to Ramdas et al. (2023) for a broader overview of recent developments. This manuscript revisits the work of Wasserman et al. (2020), who introduced universal inference, a general hypothesis testing framework based on split likelihood ratio statistics, which is also an e-value. This framework provides simple procedures for many complex composite testing problems that previously lacked actionable solutions, such as testing logconcavity (Dunn et al., 2024) and causal inference under unknown causal structures (Strieder et al., 2021), among others. Specifically, universal inference combines the classical idea of sample splitting (Cox, 1975) and Markov's inequality to establish finite-sample validity. The procedure follows three steps.

Methods to quantify uncertainty in predictions from arbitrary models are in demand in high-stakes domains like medicine and finance. Conformal prediction has emerged as a popular method for producing a set of predictions with specified average coverage, in place of a single prediction and confidence value. However, the value of conformal prediction sets to assist human decisions remains elusive due to the murky relationship between coverage guarantees and decision makers' goals and strategies. How should we think about conformal prediction sets as a form of decision support? We outline a decision theoretic framework for evaluating predictive uncertainty as informative signals, then contrast what can be said within this framework about idealized use of calibrated probabilities versus conformal prediction sets. Informed by prior empirical results and theories of human decisions under uncertainty, we formalize a set of possible strategies by which a decision maker might use a prediction set. We identify ways in which conformal prediction sets and posthoc predictive uncertainty quantification more broadly are in tension with common goals and needs in human-AI decision making. We give recommendations for future research in predictive uncertainty quantification to support human decision makers.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, intelligent decision-making techniques have gradually surpassed human levels in various human-machine competitions, especially in complex multi-agent cooperative task scenarios. Multi-agent cooperative decision-making involves multiple agents working together to complete established tasks and achieve specific objectives. These techniques are widely applicable in real-world scenarios such as autonomous driving, drone navigation, disaster rescue, and simulated military confrontations. This paper begins with a comprehensive survey of the leading simulation environments and platforms used for multi-agent cooperative decision-making. Specifically, we provide an in-depth analysis for these simulation environments from various perspectives, including task formats, reward allocation, and the underlying technologies employed. Subsequently, we provide a comprehensive overview of the mainstream intelligent decision-making approaches, algorithms and models for multi-agent systems (MAS). Theseapproaches can be broadly categorized into five types: rule-based (primarily fuzzy logic), game theory-based, evolutionary algorithms-based, deep multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL)-based, and large language models(LLMs)reasoning-based. Given the significant advantages of MARL andLLMs-baseddecision-making methods over the traditional rule, game theory, and evolutionary algorithms, this paper focuses on these multi-agent methods utilizing MARL and LLMs-based techniques. We provide an in-depth discussion of these approaches, highlighting their methodology taxonomies, advantages, and drawbacks. Further, several prominent research directions in the future and potential challenges of multi-agent cooperative decision-making are also detailed.

The rapid expansion of data from diverse sources has made anomaly detection (AD) increasingly essential for identifying unexpected observations that may signal system failures, security breaches, or fraud. As datasets become more complex and high-dimensional, traditional detection methods struggle to effectively capture intricate patterns. Advances in deep learning have made AD methods more powerful and adaptable, improving their ability to handle high-dimensional and unstructured data. This survey provides a comprehensive review of over 180 recent studies, focusing on deep learning-based AD techniques. We categorize and analyze these methods into reconstruction-based and prediction-based approaches, highlighting their effectiveness in modeling complex data distributions. Additionally, we explore the integration of traditional and deep learning methods, highlighting how hybrid approaches combine the interpretability of traditional techniques with the flexibility of deep learning to enhance detection accuracy and model transparency. Finally, we identify open issues and propose future research directions to advance the field of AD. This review bridges gaps in existing literature and serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to enhance AD techniques using deep learning.

Efficient timing in ride-matching is crucial for improving the performance of ride-hailing and ride-pooling services, as it determines the number of drivers and passengers considered in each matching process. Traditional batched matching methods often use fixed time intervals to accumulate ride requests before assigning matches. While this approach increases the number of available drivers and passengers for matching, it fails to adapt to real-time supply-demand fluctuations, often leading to longer passenger wait times and driver idle periods. To address this limitation, we propose an adaptive ride-matching strategy using deep reinforcement learning (RL) to dynamically determine when to perform matches based on real-time system conditions. Unlike fixed-interval approaches, our method continuously evaluates system states and executes matching at moments that minimize total passenger wait time. Additionally, we incorporate a potential-based reward shaping (PBRS) mechanism to mitigate sparse rewards, accelerating RL training and improving decision quality. Extensive empirical evaluations using a realistic simulator trained on real-world data demonstrate that our approach outperforms fixed-interval matching strategies, significantly reducing passenger waiting times and detour delays, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency of ride-hailing and ride-pooling systems.