AI Innovation Institute

Abstract: As intelligent systems become more integrated into human environments, fostering trustworthy human-AI collaboration presents a pressing challenge. In this talk, I examine the interplay between an agent's performance and social dynamics in shaping trust in human-AI interactions. My approach combines testbed development, behavioral prototyping, and user study design to create controlled experimental setups that capture real-world interaction complexities, such as ambiguity, multi-agent dynamics, and conflicting goals.

I illustrate this with a recent VR study on multi-user interaction with an autonomous vehicle (AV). Moving beyond dyadic interactions, the study probes human perspectives from the roles of a pedestrian, driver, and AV passenger, all interacting with the AV simultaneously at an ambiguous all-way stop sign intersection. We compare interactions with efficient and prosocial AV behavior strategies, revealing diverging trust perceptions and preferences across user roles. These insights inform a broader research trajectory focused on balancing performance with social considerations in designing trustworthy human-AI collaborations.

Bio: JiHyun Jeong is a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University working on human-computer interaction and human-robot interaction. Her research develops prototypes and methods to explore performance and social factors that influence collaboration and trust between humans and artificial agents. She holds a Ph.D. and MPS in Information Science from Cornell University, and a BSc in Computer Science and Engineering from Korea University. She is a recipient of an honorable mention for best paper at DIS.

Zoom: https://stonybrook.zoom.us/j/98738234619?pwd=djJFQXBWbkpmblZDT25zNlVMYWpCQT09

Meeting ID: 987 3823 4619
Passcode: 474618

Abstract:

It is known that models like large language models (LLMs) can often suggest colloquial plans given verbal descriptions of tasks, yet they are unable to reliably provide executable and verifiable plans given formally specified environments. In this talk, I will discuss a strand of efforts to have LLMs generate accurate and explainable plans in textual simulations. Instead of directly generating the plan or actions, LLMs are prompted to generate Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) that specifies the environment (domain file) and the task (problem file), which can then be deterministically solved with an off-the-shelf planner. In a 3-phase study, my collaborators and I first observed that it is possible but very challenging for LLMs to generate long-form code such as PDDL domain and problem files given textual specifications. Next, we devise methodologies for LLMs to iteratively generate and refine problem files while exploring a partially-observed, simulated, textual environment. Finally, we show that domain files are even more difficult to generate correctly, even on well-established planning tasks such as BlocksWorld. Finally, I will discuss ongoing efforts to improve said ability of structured generation and promising frontiers to explore.

Bio:
Li Harry Zhang is an assistant professor at Drexel University, focusing on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI). He obtained his PhD degree from the University of Pennsylvania advised by Prof. Chris Callison-Burch. Prior, he obtained his Bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan mentored by Prof. Rada Mihalcea and Prof. Dragomir Radev. His current research uses large language models (LLMs) to reason and plan via symbolic and structured representations. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed papers in NLP and AI conferences, such as ACL, EMNLP, and AACL, that have been cited more than 1,000 times. He also consistently serves as Area Chair, Session Chair, and reviewer in those venues. Being a musician, producer, and content creator having over 50,000 subscribers, he is also passionate in the research of AI music and creativity.

The University's Main Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, May 23, 2025 at 11 am at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. Gates open at 10 am.

All guests need a valid ticket to enter LaValle Stadium - no exceptions. Children age 1 and older require a ticket. Seating is first-come, first-served.

Register here.

1. Satellite Precipitation Retrieval: Using AI-based approaches to interpret precipitation retrieval algorithms from AMSU data, we identified critical microwave channels (89 and 150 GHz) that directly link to physical processes in the atmosphere.
2. Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE): By applying symbolic regression models to polarimetric radar data, we derived mathematical expressions that outperform traditional Z-R relationships and existing QPE algorithms, offering new insights into rainfall microphysics.
3. Tornado Probability Prediction: Leveraging reinforcement learning-based symbolic deep learning models, we developed interpretable equations that outperform the traditional Significant Tornado Parameter (STP) index, providing a clearer understanding of the relationships between key atmospheric variables and tornado risk.
4. Domain-Aware Symbolic Regression for Scientific Equations: In our latest work, we introduced a symbolic regression framework that incorporates domain-specific symbol priors extracted from thousands of scientific publications. By encoding common mathematical structures--such as the prevalence of trigonometric functions in physics or logarithmic forms in biology--into a tree-structured reinforcement learning model, we improved both the accuracy and interpretability of discovered equations. This approach accelerates convergence, enforces physical plausibility, and reveals new governing relationships in climate and geophysical data.

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  Robotics and Embodied AI: advances in perception, control, learning and interaction for autonomous physical agents in real-world and scientific environments.
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  AI for Science: innovative applications ranging from the physical sciences to biology and medicine, and discussion of important ways in which AI is changing the nature of science.
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  AI for Energy: how energy is discovered and produced, how hazards are mitigated to ensure reliability of the power grid, and our search for new sources of critical minerals and materials.
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  AI for Risk Assessment: inventive uses of large amounts of data and the AI tools to assess and mitigate risks in national security, climate, and financial markets.
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  AI for Education: the ways in which education is being reimagined in the age of AI and the roadblocks to training the next generation of students.

AI3 Seminar

Meir Feder

Professor, School of Electrical Engineering
Jokel Chair in Information Theory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tel-Aviv University

Information-Theoretic Framework for Understanding Modern Machine-Learning

Abstract:

Information Theory views learning as universal prediction under log loss, characterized through regret bounds. Unlike the classical results that considered ``small'' model classes and provided uniform regret, the proposed framework provides non-uniform, model dependent bounds utilizing an effective notion of architecture-based model complexity. This complexity is defined by the probability mass or volume of the set of all models in the vicinity of the target model \theta_0, in an informational distance. This volume might be hard to evaluate, yet by local analysis it is related to spectral properties of the expected Hessian or the Fisher Information Matrix at \theta_0, leading to tractable approximations. We argue that successful architectures possess a broad complexity range, enabling learning in highly over-parameterized model classes. The framework sheds light on the role of inductive biases, the effectiveness of stochastic gradient descent (SGD) algorithm, and phenomena such as flat minima. It unifies online, batch, supervised, and generative settings, and applies across the stochastic-realizable and agnostic regimes. Moreover, it provides insights into the success of modern machine-learning architectures, such as deep neural networks and transformers, suggesting that their broad complexity range naturally arises from their layered structure. These insights open the door to the design of alternative architectures with potentially comparable or even superior performance.

Biography:

Meir Feder received the Sc.D. degree in Electrical Engineering and Ocean Engineering in 1987 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). After being a Research Associate and a Lecturer at MIT, he joined the School of Electrical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University in 1990, where he is the Jokel Chaired Professor and the former founding head of Tel-Aviv university center for Artificial intelligence and Data science (TAD). Parallel to his academic career, he is closely involved with the high-tech industry: he founded 5 companies, among them Peach Networks (Acq: MSFT) and Amimon (Acq:LON.VTC). Recently, with his renewed interest in machine learning and AI, he co-founded Run:ai (Acq:NVDA), a virtualization, orchestration, and acceleration platform for AI infrastructure, acquired by Nvidia to support its GPU cloud operation.

Prof. Feder received several academic and professional awards including the IEEE Information Theory Society best paper award, the Padovani lectureship, the creative thinking award of the Israeli Defense Forces, and the Research Prize of the Israeli Electronic Industry, awarded by the President of Israel. For the technology he developed in Amimon, he received the 2020 Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCAR) and was announced the principal inventor of the technology that attained the 73rd Engineering Emmy Award of the Television Academy.

Location: NCS120