OpenRaiser/Intern-Atlas huggingface dataset:
Minimum+1 Steiner Cuts and Dual Edge Sensitivity Oracle: Bridging the Gap between Global cut and (s,t)-cut
Venue: arXiv cs.DS 2024
Year: 2024

Let $G=(V,E)$ be an undirected multi-graph on $n=|V|$ vertices and $S\subseteq V$ be a Steiner set. Steiner cut is a fundamental concept; moreover, global cut $(|S|=n)$, as well as (s,t)-cut $(|S|=2)$, is just a special case of Steiner cut. We study Steiner cuts of capacity minimum+1, and as an important application, we provide a dual edge Sensitivity Oracle for Steiner mincut. A compact data structure for cuts of capacity minimum+1 has been designed for both global cuts [STOC 1995] and (s,t)-cuts [TALG 2023]. Moreover, both data structures are also used crucially to design a dual edge Sensitivity Oracle for their respective mincuts. Unfortunately, except for these two extreme scenarios of Steiner cuts, no generalization of these results is known. Therefore, to address this gap, we present the following first results on Steiner cuts. 1. Data Structure: There is an $O(n(n-|S|+1))$ space data structure that can determine in $O(1)$ time whether a given pair of vertices is separated by a Steiner cut of capacity at least minimum+1. It can report such a cut, if it exists, in $O(n)$ time. 2. Sensitivity Oracle: (a) There is an $O(n(n-|S|+1))$ space data structure that, after the failure/insertion of any pair of edges, can report the capacity of Steiner mincut in $O(1)$ time and a Steiner mincut in $O(n)$ time. (b) If we are interested in reporting only the capacity, there is a more compact data structure that occupies $O((n-|S|)^2+n)$ space and reports the capacity in $O(1)$ time after the failure/insertion of any pair of edges. 3. Lower Bound: For undirected multi-graphs, for every Steiner set $S$, any data structure that, after the failure or insertion of any pair of edges, can report the capacity of Steiner mincut must occupy $Ω((n-|S|)^2)$ bits of space, irrespective of the query time.
Assessing Good, Bad and Ugly Arguments Generated by ChatGPT: a New Dataset, its Methodology and Associated Tasks
Venue: arXiv cs.CL 2024
Year: 2024

The recent success of Large Language Models (LLMs) has sparked concerns about their potential to spread misinformation. As a result, there is a pressing need for tools to identify ``fake arguments'' generated by such models. To create these tools, examples of texts generated by LLMs are needed. This paper introduces a methodology to obtain good, bad and ugly arguments from argumentative essays produced by ChatGPT, OpenAI's LLM. We then describe a novel dataset containing a set of diverse arguments, ArGPT. We assess the effectiveness of our dataset and establish baselines for several argumentation-related tasks. Finally, we show that the artificially generated data relates well to human argumentation and thus is useful as a tool to train and test systems for the defined tasks.
EmpathyEar: An Open-source Avatar Multimodal Empathetic Chatbot
Venue: arXiv cs.MM 2024
Year: 2024

This paper introduces EmpathyEar, a pioneering open-source, avatar-based multimodal empathetic chatbot, to fill the gap in traditional text-only empathetic response generation (ERG) systems. Leveraging the advancements of a large language model, combined with multimodal encoders and generators, EmpathyEar supports user inputs in any combination of text, sound, and vision, and produces multimodal empathetic responses, offering users, not just textual responses but also digital avatars with talking faces and synchronized speeches. A series of emotion-aware instruction-tuning is performed for comprehensive emotional understanding and generation capabilities. In this way, EmpathyEar provides users with responses that achieve a deeper emotional resonance, closely emulating human-like empathy. The system paves the way for the next emotional intelligence, for which we open-source the code for public access.
On the Computing and Communication Tradeoff in Reasoning-Based Multi-User Semantic Communications
Venue: arXiv cs.IT 2024
Year: 2024

Semantic communication (SC) is recognized as a promising approach for enabling reliable communication with minimal data transfer while maintaining seamless connectivity for a group of wireless users. Unlocking the advantages of SC for multi-user cases requires revisiting how communication and computing resources are allocated. This reassessment should consider the reasoning abilities of end-users, enabling receiving nodes to fill in missing information or anticipate future events more effectively. Yet, state-of-the-art SC systems primarily focus on resource allocation through compression based on semantic relevance, while overlooking the underlying data generation mechanisms and the tradeoff between communications and computing. Thus, they cannot help prevent a disruption in connectivity. In contrast, in this paper, a novel framework for computing and communication resource allocation is proposed that seeks to demonstrate how SC systems with reasoning capabilities at the end nodes can improve reliability in an end-to-end multi-user wireless system with intermittent communication links. Towards this end, a novel reasoning-aware SC system is proposed for enabling users to utilize their local computing resources to reason the representations when the communication links are unavailable. To optimize communication and computing resource allocation in this system, a noncooperative game is formulated among multiple users whose objective is to maximize the effective semantic information (computed as a product of reliability and semantic information) while controlling the number of semantically relevant links that are disrupted. Simulation results show that the proposed reasoning-aware SC system results in at least a $16.6\%$ enhancement in throughput and a significant improvement in reliability compared to classical communications systems that do not incorporate reasoning.
Phase-Bounded Broadcast Networks over Topologies of Communication
Venue: arXiv cs.LO 2024
Year: 2024

We study networks of processes that all execute the same finite state protocol and that communicate through broadcasts. The processes are organized in a graph (a topology) and only the neighbors of a process in this graph can receive its broadcasts. The coverability problem asks, given a protocol and a state of the protocol, whether there is a topology for the processes such that one of them (at least) reaches the given state. This problem is undecidable. We study here an under-approximation of the problem where processes alternate a bounded number of times $k$ between phases of broadcasting and phases of receiving messages. We show that, if the problem remains undecidable when $k$ is greater than 6, it becomes decidable for $k=2$, and EXPSPACE-complete for $k=1$. Furthermore, we show that if we restrict ourselves to line topologies, the problem is in $P$ for $k=1$ and $k=2$.
Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing? Impact of Data Breach Disclosure Laws
Venue: arXiv cs.CR 2024
Year: 2024

Data breach disclosure (DBD) is presumed to improve firms' cybersecurity practices by inducing fear of subsequent revenue loss. This revenue loss, the theory goes, will occur if customers punish an offending firm by refusing to buy from them and is assumed to be the primary mechanism through which DBD laws will change firm behavior ex ante. However, our analysis of a large-scale data breach at a US retailer reveals no evidence of a decline in revenue. Using a difference-in-difference design on revenue data from 302 stores over a 20-week period around the breach disclosure, we found no evidence of a decline either across all stores or when sub-sampling by prior revenue size (to account for any heterogeneity in prior revenue size). Therefore, we posit that the presumed primary mechanism of DBD laws, and thus these laws may be ineffective and merely a lot of "sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Open Problem: Order Optimal Regret Bounds for Kernel-Based Reinforcement Learning
Venue: arXiv cs.LG 2024
Year: 2024

Reinforcement Learning (RL) has shown great empirical success in various application domains. The theoretical aspects of the problem have been extensively studied over past decades, particularly under tabular and linear Markov Decision Process structures. Recently, non-linear function approximation using kernel-based prediction has gained traction. This approach is particularly interesting as it naturally extends the linear structure, and helps explain the behavior of neural-network-based models at their infinite width limit. The analytical results however do not adequately address the performance guarantees for this case. We will highlight this open problem, overview existing partial results, and discuss related challenges.
An End-to-End, Segmentation-Free, Arabic Handwritten Recognition Model on KHATT
Venue: arXiv cs.CV 2024
Year: 2024

An end-to-end, segmentation-free, deep learning model trained from scratch is proposed, leveraging DCNN for feature extraction, alongside Bidirectional Long-Short Term Memory (BLSTM) for sequence recognition and Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC) loss function on the KHATT database. The training phase yields remarkable results 84% recognition rate on the test dataset at the character level and 71% on the word level, establishing an image-based sequence recognition framework that operates without segmentation only at the line level. The analysis and preprocessing of the KFUPM Handwritten Arabic TexT (KHATT) database are also presented. Finally, advanced image processing techniques, including filtering, transformation, and line segmentation are implemented. The importance of this work is highlighted by its wide-ranging applications. Including digitizing, documentation, archiving, and text translation in fields such as banking. Moreover, AHR serves as a pivotal tool for making images searchable, enhancing information retrieval capabilities, and enabling effortless editing. This functionality significantly reduces the time and effort required for tasks such as Arabic data organization and manipulation.
Image Conductor: Precision Control for Interactive Video Synthesis
Venue: arXiv cs.CV 2024
Year: 2024

Filmmaking and animation production often require sophisticated techniques for coordinating camera transitions and object movements, typically involving labor-intensive real-world capturing. Despite advancements in generative AI for video creation, achieving precise control over motion for interactive video asset generation remains challenging. To this end, we propose Image Conductor, a method for precise control of camera transitions and object movements to generate video assets from a single image. An well-cultivated training strategy is proposed to separate distinct camera and object motion by camera LoRA weights and object LoRA weights. To further address cinematographic variations from ill-posed trajectories, we introduce a camera-free guidance technique during inference, enhancing object movements while eliminating camera transitions. Additionally, we develop a trajectory-oriented video motion data curation pipeline for training. Quantitative and qualitative experiments demonstrate our method's precision and fine-grained control in generating motion-controllable videos from images, advancing the practical application of interactive video synthesis. Project webpage available at https://liyaowei-stu.github.io/project/ImageConductor/
Privacy Preserved Blood Glucose Level Cross-Prediction: An Asynchronous Decentralized Federated Learning Approach
Venue: arXiv cs.LG 2024
Year: 2024

Newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) patients often struggle to obtain effective Blood Glucose (BG) prediction models due to the lack of sufficient BG data from Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), presenting a significant "cold start" problem in patient care. Utilizing population models to address this challenge is a potential solution, but collecting patient data for training population models in a privacy-conscious manner is challenging, especially given that such data is often stored on personal devices. Considering the privacy protection and addressing the "cold start" problem in diabetes care, we propose "GluADFL", blood Glucose prediction by Asynchronous Decentralized Federated Learning. We compared GluADFL with eight baseline methods using four distinct T1D datasets, comprising 298 participants, which demonstrated its superior performance in accurately predicting BG levels for cross-patient analysis. Furthermore, patients' data might be stored and shared across various communication networks in GluADFL, ranging from highly interconnected (e.g., random, performs the best among others) to more structured topologies (e.g., cluster and ring), suitable for various social networks. The asynchronous training framework supports flexible participation. By adjusting the ratios of inactive participants, we found it remains stable if less than 70% are inactive. Our results confirm that GluADFL offers a practical, privacy-preserving solution for BG prediction in T1D, significantly enhancing the quality of diabetes management.
Generative AI Adoption in Classroom in Context of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT)
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2024
Year: 2024

The burgeoning development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and the widespread adoption of large language models (LLMs) in educational settings have sparked considerable debate regarding their efficacy and acceptability.Despite the potential benefits, the assimilation of these cutting-edge technologies among educators exhibits a broad spectrum of attitudes, from enthusiastic advocacy to profound skepticism.This study aims to dissect the underlying factors influencing educators' perceptions and acceptance of GenAI and LLMs.We conducted a survey among educators and analyzed the data through the frameworks of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT). Our investigation reveals a strong positive correlation between the perceived usefulness of GenAI tools and their acceptance, underscoring the importance of demonstrating tangible benefits to educators. Additionally, the perceived ease of use emerged as a significant factor, though to a lesser extent, influencing acceptance. Our findings also show that the knowledge and acceptance of these tools is not uniform, suggesting that targeted strategies are required to address the specific needs and concerns of each adopter category to facilitate broader integration of AI tools.in education.
Traitement quantique des langues : {é}tat de l'art
Venue: arXiv cs.CL 2024
Year: 2024

This article presents a review of quantum computing research works for Natural Language Processing (NLP). Their goal is to improve the performance of current models, and to provide a better representation of several linguistic phenomena, such as ambiguity and long range dependencies. Several families of approaches are presented, including symbolic diagrammatic approaches, and hybrid neural networks. These works show that experimental studies are already feasible, and open research perspectives on the conception of new models and their evaluation.
Model Callers for Transforming Predictive and Generative AI Applications
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2024
Year: 2024

We introduce a novel software abstraction termed "model caller," acting as an intermediary for AI and ML model calling, advocating its transformative utility beyond existing model-serving frameworks. This abstraction offers multiple advantages: enhanced accuracy and reduced latency in model predictions, superior monitoring and observability of models, more streamlined AI system architectures, simplified AI development and management processes, and improved collaboration and accountability across AI/ML/Data Science, software, data, and operations teams. Model callers are valuable for both creators and users of models within both predictive and generative AI applications. Additionally, we have developed and released a prototype Python library for model callers, accessible for installation via pip or for download from GitHub.
CS1-LLM: Integrating LLMs into CS1 Instruction
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2024
Year: 2024

The recent, widespread availability of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot may impact introductory programming courses (CS1) both in terms of what should be taught and how to teach it. Indeed, recent research has shown that LLMs are capable of solving the majority of the assignments and exams we previously used in CS1. In addition, professional software engineers are often using these tools, raising the question of whether we should be training our students in their use as well. This experience report describes a CS1 course at a large research-intensive university that fully embraces the use of LLMs from the beginning of the course. To incorporate the LLMs, the course was intentionally altered to reduce emphasis on syntax and writing code from scratch. Instead, the course now emphasizes skills needed to successfully produce software with an LLM. This includes explaining code, testing code, and decomposing large problems into small functions that are solvable by an LLM. In addition to frequent, formative assessments of these skills, students were given three large, open-ended projects in three separate domains (data science, image processing, and game design) that allowed them to showcase their creativity in topics of their choosing. In an end-of-term survey, students reported that they appreciated learning with the assistance of the LLM and that they interacted with the LLM in a variety of ways when writing code. We provide lessons learned for instructors who may wish to incorporate LLMs into their course.
U Can't Gen This? A Survey of Intellectual Property Protection Methods for Data in Generative AI
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2024
Year: 2024

Large Generative AI (GAI) models have the unparalleled ability to generate text, images, audio, and other forms of media that are increasingly indistinguishable from human-generated content. As these models often train on publicly available data, including copyrighted materials, art and other creative works, they inadvertently risk violating copyright and misappropriation of intellectual property (IP). Due to the rapid development of generative AI technology and pressing ethical considerations from stakeholders, protective mechanisms and techniques are emerging at a high pace but lack systematisation. In this paper, we study the concerns regarding the intellectual property rights of training data and specifically focus on the properties of generative models that enable misuse leading to potential IP violations. Then we propose a taxonomy that leads to a systematic review of technical solutions for safeguarding the data from intellectual property violations in GAI.
ExU: AI Models for Examining Multilingual Disinformation Narratives and Understanding their Spread
Venue: arXiv cs.CL 2024
Year: 2024

Addressing online disinformation requires analysing narratives across languages to help fact-checkers and journalists sift through large amounts of data. The ExU project focuses on developing AI-based models for multilingual disinformation analysis, addressing the tasks of rumour stance classification and claim retrieval. We describe the ExU project proposal and summarise the results of a user requirements survey regarding the design of tools to support fact-checking.
A Flexible Cryptographic Infrastructure for High-security SDR-based Systems
Venue: arXiv cs.CR 2024
Year: 2024

Military software defined radio (SDR) systems are a major factor in future network-centric operations due to their flexibility and support for more capable radio communications systems. The inherent nature of software-based systems requires a more complex auxiliary infrastructure and multiple independent levels of security compared with typical systems: Secure booting of the SDR device, cryptographically signed software, real time operating platform software as well as radio applications. This technology raises new challenges with respect to the management. The largest impact on SDR deployments is due to the auxiliary cryptographic infrastructure for the security of the software life cycle and the cyclic update of the keys. Compared to conventional radio devices, the SDR system with the cryptographic infrastructure described in this paper reaches a higher security level and is more flexible. The advantage is the possibility to deploy trunked radio system and further waveforms, such as coalition wideband, which will be standardized in the future. Also it is possible to update cryptographic mechanisms. In this work, we analyze the requirements for a high secure SDR deployment and model the life cycle of the components of a deployed SDR node based on the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) Software Communication Architecture (SCA).
An Integration of policy and reputation based trust mechanisms
Venue: arXiv cs.CR 2024
Year: 2024

Due to popularization of internet and e-commerce, more and more people getting involved in online shopping market. A large number of companies have been transferred to the internet where online customers have been increased due to easy access. The online business facilitates people to communicate without knowing each other. The e-commerce systems are the combination of commerce behavior and internet technologies. Therefore, trust aspects are positive elements in buyer-seller transactions and a potential source of competitive e-commerce industry. There are two different approaches to handle the trust. The first approach has a solid authentication set of rules where decisions are made on some digital or logical rules called policy based trust mechanism. The second approach is a decentralized trust approach where reputation assembled and shared in distributed environment called reputation based trust mechanism. Objectives: In this thesis, the strengths and weaknesses of policy and reputation based trust mechanisms have been identified through systematic literature review and industrial interviews. Furthermore, the process of integrated trust mechanism has been proposed. The integrated trust mechanism is proposed through mapping process, weakness of one mechanism with the strength of other. The proposed integrated trust mechanism was validated by conducting experiment with buyer/seller scenario in auction system. The analysis of collected results indicated that proposed integrated trust mechanism improved the trust of buyer against eBay and Tradera. At the end, we have discussed some key points that may affect trust relationship between seller and buyer. Furthermore, there is a need for further validation of proposed trust mechanism in auction system/e-commerce industry.