We first present the procedures of Stein path distance calculation in Algorithm 1. The calculation of Stein path distance mainly has three steps. (line 1). A.2 Procedure of multiple-proxies As mentioned in Section 2.3.3, the multiple-proxies algorithm is given by: min We now provide the optimization details on the multiple-proxies algorithm. A.3 Procedure of proxy Stein path loss As we have presented in Section 2.3.3, the proxy Stein path distance is defined as: P We conduct extensive experiments on two popularly used real-world datasets, i.e., Douban [ The details of Douban and Amazon datasets are shown in Table 1 and Table 2. B.2 Visualization Amazon Music are shown in Figure 1.

The new Alexa is powered by a more responsive AI. (iStock) Amazon is taking Alexa to the next level with the help of AI. Amazon just announced Alexa, an updated assistant powered by generative AI. The idea is to make Alexa more human, so she can help you control all your devices and get more done. The U.S. Alexa launch is set to happen over the next few weeks, and will start with the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices. It can have more in-depth conversations, understand colloquial expressions and think through complex ideas.

Popularity bias is the idea that a recommender system will unduly favor popular artists when recommending artists to users. As such, they may contribute to a winner-take-all marketplace in which a small number of artists receive nearly all of the attention, while similarly meritorious artists are unlikely to be discovered. In this paper, we attempt to measure popularity bias in three state-of-art recommender system models (e.g., SLIM, Multi-VAE, WRMF) and on three commercial music streaming services (Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube). We find that the most accurate model (SLIM) also has the most popularity bias while less accurate models have less popularity bias. We also find no evidence of popularity bias in the commercial recommendations based on a simulated user experiment.

The Plackett-Luce (PL) model is ubiquitous in learning-to-rank (LTR) because it provides a useful and intuitive probabilistic model for sampling ranked lists. Counterfactual offline evaluation and optimization of ranking metrics are pivotal for using LTR methods in production. When adopting the PL model as a ranking policy, both tasks require the computation of expectations with respect to the model. These are usually approximated via Monte-Carlo (MC) sampling, since the combinatorial scaling in the number of items to be ranked makes their analytical computation intractable. Despite recent advances in improving the computational efficiency of the sampling process via the Gumbel top-k trick, the MC estimates can suffer from high variance. We develop a novel approach to producing more sample-efficient estimators of expectations in the PL model by combining the Gumbel top-k trick with quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) sampling, a well-established technique for variance reduction. We illustrate our findings both theoretically and empirically using real-world recommendation data from Amazon Music and the Yahoo learning-to-rank challenge.

Without a doubt, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level is the prettiest and best-sounding wireless streaming speaker I've encountered that operates on both AC and battery power. It holds true to the aesthetic spirit that's long driven this legendary Danish electronics brand, ever striving for a magical fusion of design and technology. But be forewarned, buying into this functional work of art isn't for the financially faint of heart: A single Beosound Level costs either $1,499 or $1,799, depending on which model you choose. You might need to rationalize this luxury indulgence as a long-term investment; like the pitch proffered for a Rolex timekeeper, or an exotic Euro sports car. And like those rare goods, the Beosound Level has a sensitive nature that in some ways demands a bit of coddling (more on that in a bit). At the heart of this device (and a few of B&O's other Wi-Fi-enabled speakers) is a new, modular circuit core called Mozart, which the manufacturer says can be swapped out for another if the onboard upgradability ever reaches its limit.

Amazon Alexa is one of today's go-to voice assistants. Available on hundreds of devices, from smart speakers to displays and thermostats, Alexa grows more popular every day, with over 100 million device owners and 900,000 registered developers producing Alexa-powered products. Speaking of the latter, Alexa Live 2021 has finally arrived. This year's free virtual symposium is a great place to learn about all of the new developer tools and services that Alexa will be capable of in the near future. Here's everything announced at this year's event.

There's a new Lexus NX around the corner that's sporting a mild redesign, but the big news revolves around the all-new infotainment system inside. This new system is called Lexus Interface, for better or worse, and it's a shot across the bow in the battle for your in-car infotainment needs. That means the interface was produced in North America, which Toyota says is the first time this has happened. But it makes sense, given that this interface is going up against the tech giants from Silicon Valley, namely Apple and Google. The Japanese carmaker doesn't want to mirror your smartphone; it plans to replace it.

You've thought long and hard about it, and you're finally ready to buy a smart speaker. They're all being heavily marketed for Black Friday sales, and you'd like to ask Siri, Alexa or the Google Assistant to play music, tell you the weather, turn off your TV or lights on command. But you're stuck: Which brand and model to buy? Amazon has five Echo speakers currently available, Google has six and Apple has two. Which one is right for you? And then there are the concerns about security and snooping.

Amazon's smallest Echo has evolved quite a bit over the years. The first Amazon Echo Dot was small and puck-like but didn't have very good audio. In 2018, the company upgraded the Dot's speakers to a new 1.6-inch driver that gave it a lot more bass and overall better performance, plus it had a much more stylish fabric-clad exterior. Last year, Amazon added a new model called the Echo Dot with Clock, which is basically the same thing but with a digital clock on the front. In 2020, however, the company has decided to go… round.