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3D-Aware Image compositing with Language Instructions

Neural Information Processing Systems

This paper introduces Bifrรถst, a novel 3D-aware framework that is built upon diffusion models to perform instruction-based image composition. Previous methods concentrate on image compositing at the 2D level, which fall short in handling complex spatial relationships (e.g., occlusion). Bifrรถst addresses these issues by training MLLM as a 2.5D location predictor and integrating depth maps as an extra condition during the generation process to bridge the gap between 2D and 3D, which enhances spatial comprehension and supports sophisticated spatial inter-Corresponding author



Foundation Inference Models for Markov Jump Processes David Berghaus 1, 2

Neural Information Processing Systems

Markov jump processes are continuous-time stochastic processes which describe dynamical systems evolving in discrete state spaces. These processes find wide application in the natural sciences and machine learning, but their inference is known to be far from trivial. In this work we introduce a methodology for zeroshot inference of Markov jump processes (MJPs), on bounded state spaces, from noisy and sparse observations, which consists of two components. First, a broad probability distribution over families of MJPs, as well as over possible observation times and noise mechanisms, with which we simulate a synthetic dataset of hidden MJPs and their noisy observations. Second, a neural recognition model that processes subsets of the simulated observations, and that is trained to output the initial condition and rate matrix of the target MJP in a supervised way. We empirically demonstrate that one and the same (pretrained) recognition model can infer, in a zero-shot fashion, hidden MJPs evolving in state spaces of different dimensionalities. Specifically, we infer MJPs which describe (i) discrete flashing ratchet systems, which are a type of Brownian motors, and the conformational dynamics in (ii) molecular simulations, (iii) experimental ion channel data and (iv) simple protein folding models. What is more, we show that our model performs on par with state-of-the-art models which are trained on the target datasets.


Autobidder's Dilemma: Why More Sophisticated Autobidders Lead to Worse Auction Efficiency

Neural Information Processing Systems

The recent increasing adoption of autobidding has inspired the growing interest in analyzing the performance of classic mechanism with value-maximizing autobidders both theoretically and empirically. It is known that optimal welfare can be obtained in first-price auctions if autobidders are restricted to uniform bid-scaling and the price of anarchy is 2 when non-uniform bid-scaling strategies are allowed. In this paper, we provide a fine-grained price of anarchy analysis for non-uniform bid-scaling strategies in first-price auctions, demonstrating the reason why more powerful (individual) non-uniform bid-scaling strategies may lead to worse (aggregated) performance in social welfare. Our theoretical results match recent empirical findings that a higher level of non-uniform bid-scaling leads to lower welfare performance in first-price auctions.


Wyze Cam adds 'no big deal' AI filter to cut down on your notifications

ZDNet

Wyze just introduced a new feature called the "No Big Deal" (NBD) filter to reduce unnecessary notifications. This is meant to address the excessive notifications that come with a security camera, including false alerts and unimportant NBD events. Also: The hardest-working floodlight and security camera I've tested is 70 off right now Imagine you have a camera by your garage and spend a few hours cleaning your garage or doing yard work, for example. Reducing repetitive notifications by marking them as NBD would prevent your phone from getting motion-detection notifications every minute. Instead, your Wyze Cam would recognize that as an unimportant, repetitive activity and stop sending notifications for up to a three-hour block of time.


Reinforcement-Learned Boundary Segmentation with Iterative Training for Unsupervised ASR

Neural Information Processing Systems

Unsupervised automatic speech recognition (ASR) aims to learn the mapping between the speech signal and its corresponding textual transcription without the supervision of paired speech-text data. A word/phoneme in the speech signal is represented by a segment of speech signal with variable length and unknown boundary, and this segmental structure makes learning the mapping between speech and text challenging, especially without paired data.


Job-SDF: A Multi-Granularity Dataset for Job Skill Demand Forecasting and Benchmarking Xi Chen

Neural Information Processing Systems

In a rapidly evolving job market, skill demand forecasting is crucial as it enables policymakers and businesses to anticipate and adapt to changes, ensuring that workforce skills align with market needs, thereby enhancing productivity and competitiveness. Additionally, by identifying emerging skill requirements, it directs individuals towards relevant training and education opportunities, promoting continuous self-learning and development. However, the absence of comprehensive datasets presents a significant challenge, impeding research and the advancement of this field. To bridge this gap, we present Job-SDF, a dataset designed to train and benchmark job-skill demand forecasting models. Based on millions of public job advertisements collected from online recruitment platforms, this dataset encompasses monthly recruitment demand. Our dataset uniquely enables evaluating skill demand forecasting models at various granularities, including occupation, company, and regional levels. We benchmark a range of models on this dataset, evaluating their performance in standard scenarios, in predictions focused on lower value ranges, and in the presence of structural breaks, providing new insights for further research.




Sequential Harmful Shift Detection Without Labels

Neural Information Processing Systems

We introduce a novel approach for detecting distribution shifts that negatively impact the performance of machine learning models in continuous production environments, which requires no access to ground truth data labels. It builds upon the work of Podkopaev and Ramdas [2022], who address scenarios where labels are available for tracking model errors over time. Our solution extends this framework to work in the absence of labels, by employing a proxy for the true error. This proxy is derived using the predictions of a trained error estimator. Experiments show that our method has high power and false alarm control under various distribution shifts, including covariate and label shifts and natural shifts over geography and time.