Topic: AI Seminar: Owen Rambow
Time: Mar 17, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://stonybrook.zoom.us/j/93614644178?pwd=MzJtVDJYYmU5T1dtMzJiUFMxb0x4dz09
Meeting ID: 936 1464 4178. Passcode: 965936
Natural Language Understanding and Semantic Parsing
(Partly joint work with former colleagues at Elemental Cognition)
Semantic parsing refers to the task of determining the propositional content of language: who did what to whom. It is part of the larger task of natural language understanding (NLU). I will start out by discussing what full NLU means, and argue that we are still far away, as a field, from solving full NLU, or even from knowing how to evaluate it.
In the second part of the talk, I will situate semantic parsing in the context of several other NLU subtasks. Typically, the target representation of semantic parsing uses an ontology (such as PropBank or FrameNet). Semantic parsing includes the subtasks of word sense disambiguation, argument detection, and argument role labeling. I will discuss choices among possible target ontologies. I will justify why we created a new ontology, Hector, based on FrameNet and the lexical resource NOAD, and explain some of its characteristics.
In the third part of the talk, I will present experiments we performed using transformer models. We obtain best results using a two-phase model, in which we first choose the frame, and then, given the frame, choose the arguments. We encode the problem for both tasks using indices in the sentence. While we develop the parser for our new ontology Hector, this approach also beats the state of the art for FrameNet and PropBank parsing.Biography: I am a professor in the Department of Linguistics at Stony Brook University with a joint appointment in IACS.
Time: Mar 17, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://stonybrook.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 936 1464 4178. Passcode: 965936
Natural Language Understanding and Semantic Parsing
(Partly joint work with former colleagues at Elemental Cognition)
Semantic parsing refers to the task of determining the propositional content of language: who did what to whom. It is part of the larger task of natural language understanding (NLU). I will start out by discussing what full NLU means, and argue that we are still far away, as a field, from solving full NLU, or even from knowing how to evaluate it.
In the second part of the talk, I will situate semantic parsing in the context of several other NLU subtasks. Typically, the target representation of semantic parsing uses an ontology (such as PropBank or FrameNet). Semantic parsing includes the subtasks of word sense disambiguation, argument detection, and argument role labeling. I will discuss choices among possible target ontologies. I will justify why we created a new ontology, Hector, based on FrameNet and the lexical resource NOAD, and explain some of its characteristics.
In the third part of the talk, I will present experiments we performed using transformer models. We obtain best results using a two-phase model, in which we first choose the frame, and then, given the frame, choose the arguments. We encode the problem for both tasks using indices in the sentence. While we develop the parser for our new ontology Hector, this approach also beats the state of the art for FrameNet and PropBank parsing.Biography: I am a professor in the Department of Linguistics at Stony Brook University with a joint appointment in IACS.
Until recently, I was a research scientist at Elemental Cognition. Elemental Cognition is working on deep natural language understanding.
I got my PhD with Aravind Joshi at the University of Pennsylvania in 1994. I have worked at CoGenTex, and at AT&T Labs -- Research, and for many years I was a research scientist at Columbia University in the Center for Computational Learning Systems.
Are you concerned about AI issues with your asynchronous online courses? Is your fully online course vulnerable to AI plagiarism? Do you want to engage your online students using AI? Discover the future of education with our AI-powered solutions designed specifically for online asynchronous courses. This innovative approach uses artificial intelligence to transform the way courses are delivered, making learning more personalized, engaging, and effective.
Register here.
Abstract: Current Chain-of-Thought (CoT) verification methods predict reasoning correctness based on outputs (black-box) or activations (gray-box), but offer limited insight into \textit{why} a computation fails. We introduce a white-box method: \textbf{Circuit-based Reasoning Verification (CRV)}. We hypothesize that attribution graphs of correct CoT steps, viewed as \textit{execution traces} of the model's latent reasoning circuits, possess distinct structural fingerprints from those of incorrect steps. By training a classifier on structural features of these graphs, we show that these traces contain a powerful signal of reasoning errors. Our white-box approach yields novel scientific insights unattainable by other methods. (1) We demonstrate that structural signatures of error are highly predictive, establishing the viability of verifying reasoning directly via its computational graph. (2) We find these signatures to be highly domain-specific, revealing that failures in different reasoning tasks manifest as distinct computational patterns. (3) We provide evidence that these signatures are not merely correlational; by using our analysis to guide targeted interventions on individual transcoder features, we successfully correct the model's faulty reasoning. Our work shows that, by scrutinizing a model's computational process, we can move from simple error detection to a deeper, causal understanding of LLM reasoning.
Speaker: Xianjun Yang
Location: Old Computer Science Building - CS2311
Speaker: Xianjun Yang
Location: Old Computer Science Building - CS2311
Designed for faculty, staff, presidents, provosts, academic leaders, student affairs professionals, IT specialists, librarians, researchers, administrators, institutional decision-makers, and other higher education stakeholders, the conference highlights practical strategies institutions can implement now while exploring longer-term governance, policy, and ethical considerations. Participants will leave with concrete tools, cross-institutional insights, and collaborative connections that support mission-aligned AI innovation.
Hosted by: AAC&U
Location: Atlanta, GA and Virtual
Register here.
Join the Office of Educational Effectiveness' upcoming workshop on the transformative potential of AI tools to enhance program assessment. Learn how to leverage AI to create targeted learning objectives, detailed rubrics, and precise benchmarks that will elevate the quality and effectiveness of your program assessment process. Join in-person on Oct. 17 at 10:30 am or virtually on Oct. 21 at 12 pm.
Register in advance: https://calendar.stonybrook.edu/site/office-educational-effectiveness/event/leveraging-ai-in-assessment-zoom/
Talk by Zhenhua Liu to be followed by AI Institute updates
Abstract: Decision making with uncertainty has been studied in multiple communities extensively. Recently, online optimization has gained popularity partially because of its promising performance guarantees by incorporating predictions. In this talk, I will provide an overview of our work on algorithm designs for online optimization and its applications. Then, I will talk about our recent work in ACM Sigmetrics 2019 on choosing predictions and control algorithms simultaneously and dynamically. Finally, I will discuss some ongoing efforts and collaboration opportunities.
Bio: Zhenhua Liu is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics at Stony Brook University. He is also affiliated with the Department of Computer Science, the AI Institute and the Smart Energy Technology Cluster. He received his PhD degree in Computer Science from California Institute of Technology. His current research interests include cloud computing, online optimization and learning, smart grid, market design and distributed control. His research combines rigorous analysis and system design, and goes from theory, to prototype, and eventually to industry to make real impacts.
Abstract: Decision making with uncertainty has been studied in multiple communities extensively. Recently, online optimization has gained popularity partially because of its promising performance guarantees by incorporating predictions. In this talk, I will provide an overview of our work on algorithm designs for online optimization and its applications. Then, I will talk about our recent work in ACM Sigmetrics 2019 on choosing predictions and control algorithms simultaneously and dynamically. Finally, I will discuss some ongoing efforts and collaboration opportunities.
Bio: Zhenhua Liu is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics at Stony Brook University. He is also affiliated with the Department of Computer Science, the AI Institute and the Smart Energy Technology Cluster. He received his PhD degree in Computer Science from California Institute of Technology. His current research interests include cloud computing, online optimization and learning, smart grid, market design and distributed control. His research combines rigorous analysis and system design, and goes from theory, to prototype, and eventually to industry to make real impacts.
The overall purpose of this seminar is to bring together people with interests in Computer Vision theory and techniques and to examine current research issues. This course will be appropriate for people who already took a Computer Vision graduate course or already had research experience in Computer Vision. To enroll in this course, you must either: (1) be in the PhD program or (2) receive permission from the instructors.
Each seminar will consist of multiple short talks (around 10 minutes) by multiple people. Students can register for 1 credit for CSE 656. Registered students must attend and present a minimum of 2 or 3 talks. Everyone else is welcome to attend. Fill in https://forms.gle/pCVXovgfMfQwGqG38 to subscribe to our mailing list for further announcement.
Each seminar will consist of multiple short talks (around 10 minutes) by multiple people. Students can register for 1 credit for CSE 656. Registered students must attend and present a minimum of 2 or 3 talks. Everyone else is welcome to attend. Fill in https://forms.gle/pCVXovgfMfQwGqG38 to subscribe to our mailing list for further announcement.
CSE 600 Talk: Securing Software-Defined Networking Infrastructure by Dr. Guofei Gu
ABSTRACT: Today's network and computing infrastructure rests on inadequate foundations. An emerging, promising new foundation for computing is software-defined infrastructure (SDI), which offers a range of
technologies including: compute, storage and network virtualization; novel separation of concerns at the systems level; and new approaches to system and device management. As a representative example of SDI,
software-defined networking (SDN) is a new networking paradigm that decouples the control logic from the closed and proprietary implementations of traditional network data plane infrastructure. SDN is now becoming the networking foundation for data-center/cloud, future Internet and 5G infrastructures.
We believe that SDN is an impactful technology to drive a variety of innovations in network management and security. It is now clear that security will be a top concern, as well as a new killer app, for SDN. In this talk, I will discuss some new opportunities, as well as challenges, in this new direction and demonstrate with our recent
research results. I will discuss how SDN can enhance network security. And I will also discuss some unique new security problems inside SDN and introduce some of our work to enhance the security of SDN. Finally, I will share my vision on programmable system security in a software-defined world.
BIO: Dr. Guofei Gu is a professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU). Before coming to Texas A&M, he received his PhD degree in Computer Science from the College
of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology. His research interests are in network and systems security.
Dr. Gu is a recipient of 2010 NSF CAREER Award, 2013 AFOSR Young Investigator Award, 2010 IEEE S&P Best Student Paper Award, 2015 ICDCS Best Paper Award, Texas A&M Dean of Engineering Excellence Award,
Presidential Impact Fellow, Charles H. Barclay Jr. '45 Faculty Fellow and the Google Faculty Research Award. He is an active member of the security research community and has pioneered several new research directions such as botnet detection/defense and SDN security. Dr. Gu has served on the program committees of top-tier security conferences such as IEEE S&P, ACM CCS, USENIX Security and NDSS. He is an ACM Distinguished Member, an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security (T-IFS), and the Steering Committee co-chair for SecureComm. He is currently directing the SUCCESS Lab at TAMU.
ABSTRACT: Today's network and computing infrastructure rests on inadequate foundations. An emerging, promising new foundation for computing is software-defined infrastructure (SDI), which offers a range of
technologies including: compute, storage and network virtualization; novel separation of concerns at the systems level; and new approaches to system and device management. As a representative example of SDI,
software-defined networking (SDN) is a new networking paradigm that decouples the control logic from the closed and proprietary implementations of traditional network data plane infrastructure. SDN is now becoming the networking foundation for data-center/cloud, future Internet and 5G infrastructures.
We believe that SDN is an impactful technology to drive a variety of innovations in network management and security. It is now clear that security will be a top concern, as well as a new killer app, for SDN. In this talk, I will discuss some new opportunities, as well as challenges, in this new direction and demonstrate with our recent
research results. I will discuss how SDN can enhance network security. And I will also discuss some unique new security problems inside SDN and introduce some of our work to enhance the security of SDN. Finally, I will share my vision on programmable system security in a software-defined world.
BIO: Dr. Guofei Gu is a professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU). Before coming to Texas A&M, he received his PhD degree in Computer Science from the College
of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology. His research interests are in network and systems security.
Dr. Gu is a recipient of 2010 NSF CAREER Award, 2013 AFOSR Young Investigator Award, 2010 IEEE S&P Best Student Paper Award, 2015 ICDCS Best Paper Award, Texas A&M Dean of Engineering Excellence Award,
Presidential Impact Fellow, Charles H. Barclay Jr. '45 Faculty Fellow and the Google Faculty Research Award. He is an active member of the security research community and has pioneered several new research directions such as botnet detection/defense and SDN security. Dr. Gu has served on the program committees of top-tier security conferences such as IEEE S&P, ACM CCS, USENIX Security and NDSS. He is an ACM Distinguished Member, an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security (T-IFS), and the Steering Committee co-chair for SecureComm. He is currently directing the SUCCESS Lab at TAMU.
University Libraries Presents
Caught between wanting to use AI to get ahead and worrying about privacy, environmental impacts, or other risks? This workshop will help you build a personalized framework to navigate your concerns. Instead of generic advice, you will learn how to weigh the pros and cons of AI to make conscious, confident choices about when, and when not, to use AI tools to align with your personal values.
Register here to attend.