AI Assistant In Aem

AI Assistant In Aem — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step guides on Aizhi.

  • VieON

    VieON

    VieON is an mobile application for television and video on demand provided by VieON Joint Stock Company (formerly Dzones), a subsidiary of DatVietVAC Media and Entertainment Group in Vietnam. The app was launched in 2020, featuring over 140 domestic and international television channels, original series, popular entertainment programs known nationwide, top-tier sports events and live streaming of major events. Additionally, VieON provides animated films, television series and television programs from various countries such as South Korea and China. == History == The application was planned for development in 2016, with the cooperation of strategic consulting partner BCG Digital Ventures from the United States. Prior to 2020, VieON was a rebranded version of VTVcab ON, a product managed by Vietnam Cable Television Corporation (VTVCab) and DatVietVAC. On June 15, 2020, after four years of research and testing, the new version of VieON was officially released by DatVietVAC Group, with Vie Channel Joint Stock Company as the business entity and service provider. This is considered the official launch date of the application. On July 21, 2023, VieON transitioned its business operations and service provision to VieON Joint Stock Company. In January 2024, VieON officially launched its global version, VieON Global, targeting Vietnamese users living abroad. == Background == According to Kantar Media Vietnam, up to 84% of Vietnamese people aged 15–54 use social media daily, and in a similar survey by Nielsen, 90% of respondents said they watch live TV weekly. Additionally, according to research organization Muvi, Southeast Asia's OTT market revenue could reach $650 million annually starting next year. Understanding this, DatVietVAC Group has planned to research and develop an OTT application, even though the Vietnamese market already has some major players such as FPT Play and the international giant Netflix. Additionally, DatVietVAC does not hide its ambition to make this application the number one entertainment channel for Vietnamese people.

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  • Count sketch

    Count sketch

    Count sketch is a type of dimensionality reduction that is particularly efficient in statistics, machine learning and algorithms. It was invented by Moses Charikar, Kevin Chen and Martin Farach-Colton in an effort to speed up the AMS Sketch by Alon, Matias and Szegedy for approximating the frequency moments of streams (these calculations require counting of the number of occurrences for the distinct elements of the stream). The sketch is nearly identical to the Feature hashing algorithm by John Moody, but differs in its use of hash functions with low dependence, which makes it more practical. In order to still have a high probability of success, the median trick is used to aggregate multiple count sketches, rather than the mean. These properties allow use for explicit kernel methods, bilinear pooling in neural networks and is a cornerstone in many numerical linear algebra algorithms. == Intuitive explanation == The inventors of this data structure offer the following iterative explanation of its operation: at the simplest level, the output of a single hash function s mapping stream elements q into {+1, -1} is feeding a single up/down counter C. After a single pass over the data, the frequency n ( q ) {\displaystyle n(q)} of a stream element q can be approximated, although extremely poorly, by the expected value E [ C ⋅ s ( q ) ] {\displaystyle {\mathbf {E}}[C\cdot s(q)]} ; a straightforward way to improve the variance of the previous estimate is to use an array of different hash functions s i {\displaystyle s_{i}} , each connected to its own counter C i {\displaystyle C_{i}} . For each i, the E [ C i ⋅ s i ( q ) ] = n ( q ) {\displaystyle {\mathbf {E}}[C_{i}\cdot s_{i}(q)]=n(q)} still holds, so averaging across the i range will tighten the approximation; the previous construct still has a major deficiency: if a lower-frequency-but-still-important output element a exhibits a hash collision with a high-frequency element even for one of the s i {\displaystyle s_{i}} hashes, n ( a ) {\displaystyle n(a)} estimate can be significantly affected. Avoiding this requires reducing the frequency of collision counter updates between any two distinct elements. This is achieved by replacing each C i {\displaystyle C_{i}} in the previous construct with an array of m counters (making the counter set into a two-dimensional matrix C i , j {\displaystyle C_{i,j}} ), with index j of a particular counter to be incremented/decremented selected via another set of hash functions h i {\displaystyle h_{i}} that map element q into the range {1..m}. Since E [ C i , h i ( q ) ⋅ s i ( q ) ] = n ( q ) {\displaystyle {\mathbf {E}}[C_{i,h_{i}(q)}\cdot s_{i}(q)]=n(q)} , averaging across all values of i will work. == Mathematical definition == 1. For constants w {\displaystyle w} and t {\displaystyle t} (to be defined later) independently choose d = 2 t + 1 {\displaystyle d=2t+1} random hash functions h 1 , … , h d {\displaystyle h_{1},\dots ,h_{d}} and s 1 , … , s d {\displaystyle s_{1},\dots ,s_{d}} such that h i : [ n ] → [ w ] {\displaystyle h_{i}:[n]\to [w]} and s i : [ n ] → { ± 1 } {\displaystyle s_{i}:[n]\to \{\pm 1\}} . It is necessary that the hash families from which h i {\displaystyle h_{i}} and s i {\displaystyle s_{i}} are chosen be pairwise independent. 2. For each item q i {\displaystyle q_{i}} in the stream, add s j ( q i ) {\displaystyle s_{j}(q_{i})} to the h j ( q i ) {\displaystyle h_{j}(q_{i})} th bucket of the j {\displaystyle j} th hash. At the end of this process, one has w d {\displaystyle wd} sums ( C i j ) {\displaystyle (C_{ij})} where C i , j = ∑ h i ( k ) = j s i ( k ) . {\displaystyle C_{i,j}=\sum _{h_{i}(k)=j}s_{i}(k).} To estimate the count of q {\displaystyle q} s one computes the following value: r q = median i = 1 d s i ( q ) ⋅ C i , h i ( q ) . {\displaystyle r_{q}={\text{median}}_{i=1}^{d}\,s_{i}(q)\cdot C_{i,h_{i}(q)}.} The values s i ( q ) ⋅ C i , h i ( q ) {\displaystyle s_{i}(q)\cdot C_{i,h_{i}(q)}} are unbiased estimates of how many times q {\displaystyle q} has appeared in the stream. The estimate r q {\displaystyle r_{q}} has variance O ( m i n { m 1 2 / w 2 , m 2 2 / w } ) {\displaystyle O(\mathrm {min} \{m_{1}^{2}/w^{2},m_{2}^{2}/w\})} , where m 1 {\displaystyle m_{1}} is the length of the stream and m 2 2 {\displaystyle m_{2}^{2}} is ∑ q ( ∑ i [ q i = q ] ) 2 {\displaystyle \sum _{q}(\sum _{i}[q_{i}=q])^{2}} . Furthermore, r q {\displaystyle r_{q}} is guaranteed to never be more than 2 m 2 / w {\displaystyle 2m_{2}/{\sqrt {w}}} off from the true value, with probability 1 − e − O ( t ) {\displaystyle 1-e^{-O(t)}} . === Vector formulation === Alternatively Count-Sketch can be seen as a linear mapping with a non-linear reconstruction function. Let M ( i ∈ [ d ] ) ∈ { − 1 , 0 , 1 } w × n {\displaystyle M^{(i\in [d])}\in \{-1,0,1\}^{w\times n}} , be a collection of d = 2 t + 1 {\displaystyle d=2t+1} matrices, defined by M h i ( j ) , j ( i ) = s i ( j ) {\displaystyle M_{h_{i}(j),j}^{(i)}=s_{i}(j)} for j ∈ [ w ] {\displaystyle j\in [w]} and 0 everywhere else. Then a vector v ∈ R n {\displaystyle v\in \mathbb {R} ^{n}} is sketched by C ( i ) = M ( i ) v ∈ R w {\displaystyle C^{(i)}=M^{(i)}v\in \mathbb {R} ^{w}} . To reconstruct v {\displaystyle v} we take v j ∗ = median i C j ( i ) s i ( j ) {\displaystyle v_{j}^{}={\text{median}}_{i}C_{j}^{(i)}s_{i}(j)} . This gives the same guarantees as stated above, if we take m 1 = ‖ v ‖ 1 {\displaystyle m_{1}=\|v\|_{1}} and m 2 = ‖ v ‖ 2 {\displaystyle m_{2}=\|v\|_{2}} . == Relation to Tensor sketch == The count sketch projection of the outer product of two vectors is equivalent to the convolution of two component count sketches. The count sketch computes a vector convolution C ( 1 ) x ∗ C ( 2 ) x T {\displaystyle C^{(1)}x\ast C^{(2)}x^{T}} , where C ( 1 ) {\displaystyle C^{(1)}} and C ( 2 ) {\displaystyle C^{(2)}} are independent count sketch matrices. Pham and Pagh show that this equals C ( x ⊗ x T ) {\displaystyle C(x\otimes x^{T})} – a count sketch C {\displaystyle C} of the outer product of vectors, where ⊗ {\displaystyle \otimes } denotes Kronecker product. The fast Fourier transform can be used to do fast convolution of count sketches. By using the face-splitting product such structures can be computed much faster than normal matrices.

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  • Vapnik–Chervonenkis dimension

    Vapnik–Chervonenkis dimension

    In Vapnik–Chervonenkis theory, the Vapnik–Chervonenkis (VC) dimension is a measure of the size (capacity, complexity, expressive power, richness, or flexibility) of a class of sets. The notion can be extended to classes of binary functions. It is defined as the cardinality of the largest set of points that the function class can shatter—that is, for which all possible binary labelings can be realized by some function in the class. It was originally defined by Vladimir Vapnik and Alexey Chervonenkis. Informally, the capacity of a classification model is related to how complicated it can be. For example, consider the thresholding of a high-degree polynomial: if the polynomial evaluates above zero, that point is classified as positive, otherwise as negative. A high-degree polynomial can be wiggly, so that it can fit a given set of training points well. Such a polynomial has a high capacity. A much simpler alternative is to threshold a linear function. This function may not fit the training set well, because it has a low capacity. This notion of capacity is made rigorous below. == Definitions == === VC dimension of a set-family === Let C = { C } C ∈ C {\displaystyle {\mathcal {C}}=\{C\}_{C\in {\mathcal {C}}}} be a family of sets (also called set family, collection of sets or set of sets) and X {\displaystyle X} a set. Their intersection is defined as the following set family: C ∩ X := { C ∩ X ∣ C ∈ C } . {\displaystyle {\mathcal {C}}\cap X:=\{C\cap X\mid C\in {\mathcal {C}}\}.} Here typically X {\displaystyle X} and each C ∈ C {\displaystyle C\in {\mathcal {C}}} are subsets of a big "universe" of possibilities U {\displaystyle U} where intersection takes place. We say that a set X {\displaystyle X} is shattered by C {\displaystyle {\mathcal {C}}} if P ( X ) = C ∩ X {\displaystyle {\mathcal {P}}(X)={\mathcal {C}}\cap X} i.e. the set of intersections contains (hence is equal to) all the subsets of X {\displaystyle X} . For finite sets X {\displaystyle X} this is equivalent to | C ∩ X | = 2 | X | . {\displaystyle |{\mathcal {C}}\cap X|=2^{|X|}.} The VC dimension D {\displaystyle D} of C {\displaystyle {\mathcal {C}}} is the cardinality of the largest set that is shattered by C {\displaystyle {\mathcal {C}}} . If arbitrarily large sets can be shattered, the VC dimension of C {\displaystyle {\mathcal {C}}} is ∞ {\displaystyle \infty } . === VC dimension of a classification model === A binary classification model f {\displaystyle f} with some parameter vector θ {\displaystyle \theta } is said to shatter a set of generally positioned data points ( x 1 , x 2 , … , x n ) {\displaystyle (x_{1},x_{2},\ldots ,x_{n})} if, for every assignment of labels to those points, there exists a θ {\displaystyle \theta } such that the model f {\displaystyle f} makes no errors when evaluating that set of data points. The VC dimension of a model f {\displaystyle f} is the maximum number of points that can be arranged so that f {\displaystyle f} shatters them. More formally, it is the maximum cardinal D {\displaystyle D} such that there exists a generally positioned data point set of cardinality D {\displaystyle D} that can be shattered by f {\displaystyle f} . == Examples == f {\displaystyle f} is a constant classifier (with no parameters); Its VC dimension is 0 since it cannot shatter even a single point. In general, the VC dimension of a finite classification model, which can return at most 2 d {\displaystyle 2^{d}} different classifiers, is at most d {\displaystyle d} (this is an upper bound on the VC dimension; the Sauer–Shelah lemma gives a lower bound on the dimension). f {\displaystyle f} is a single-parametric threshold classifier on real numbers; i.e., for a certain threshold θ {\displaystyle \theta } , the classifier f θ {\displaystyle f_{\theta }} returns 1 if the input number is larger than θ {\displaystyle \theta } and 0 otherwise. The VC dimension of f {\displaystyle f} is 1 because: (a) It can shatter a single point. For every point x {\displaystyle x} , a classifier f θ {\displaystyle f_{\theta }} labels it as 0 if θ > x {\displaystyle \theta >x} and labels it as 1 if θ < x {\displaystyle \theta x + 2 {\displaystyle \theta >x+2} , as (1,0) if θ ∈ [ x − 4 , x − 2 ) {\displaystyle \theta \in [x-4,x-2)} , as (1,1) if θ ∈ [ x − 2 , x ] {\displaystyle \theta \in [x-2,x]} , and as (0,1) if θ ∈ ( x , x + 2 ] {\displaystyle \theta \in (x,x+2]} . (b) It cannot shatter any set of three points. For every set of three numbers, if the smallest and the largest are labeled 1, then the middle one must also be labeled 1, so not all labelings are possible. f {\displaystyle f} is a straight line as a classification model on points in a two-dimensional plane (this is the model used by a perceptron). The line should separate positive data points from negative data points. There exist sets of 3 points that can indeed be shattered using this model (any 3 points that are not collinear can be shattered). However, no set of 4 points can be shattered: by Radon's theorem, any four points can be partitioned into two subsets with intersecting convex hulls, so it is not possible to separate one of these two subsets from the other. Thus, the VC dimension of this particular classifier is 3. It is important to remember that while one can choose any arrangement of points, the arrangement of those points cannot change when attempting to shatter for some label assignment. Note, only 3 of the 23 = 8 possible label assignments are shown for the three points. f {\displaystyle f} is a single-parametric sine classifier, i.e., for a certain parameter θ {\displaystyle \theta } , the classifier f θ {\displaystyle f_{\theta }} returns 1 if the input number x {\displaystyle x} has sin ⁡ ( θ x ) > 0 {\displaystyle \sin(\theta x)>0} and 0 otherwise. The VC dimension of f {\displaystyle f} is infinite, since it can shatter any finite subset of the set { 2 − m ∣ m ∈ N } {\displaystyle \{2^{-m}\mid m\in \mathbb {N} \}} . == Uses == === In statistical learning theory === The VC dimension can predict a probabilistic upper bound on the test error of a classification model. Vapnik proved that the probability of the test error (i.e., risk with 0–1 loss function) distancing from an upper bound (on data that is drawn i.i.d. from the same distribution as the training set) is given by: Pr ( test error ⩽ training error + 1 N [ D ( log ⁡ ( 2 N D ) + 1 ) − log ⁡ ( η 4 ) ] ) = 1 − η , {\displaystyle \Pr \left({\text{test error}}\leqslant {\text{training error}}+{\sqrt {{\frac {1}{N}}\left[D\left(\log \left({\tfrac {2N}{D}}\right)+1\right)-\log \left({\tfrac {\eta }{4}}\right)\right]}}\,\right)=1-\eta ,} where D {\displaystyle D} is the VC dimension of the classification model, 0 < η ⩽ 1 {\displaystyle 0<\eta \leqslant 1} , and N {\displaystyle N} is the size of the training set (restriction: this formula is valid when D ≪ N {\displaystyle D\ll N} . When D {\displaystyle D} is larger, the test-error may be much higher than the training-error. This is due to overfitting). The VC dimension also appears in sample-complexity bounds. A space of binary functions with VC dimension D {\displaystyle D} can be learned with: N = Θ ( D + ln ⁡ 1 δ ε 2 ) {\displaystyle N=\Theta \left({\frac {D+\ln {1 \over \delta }}{\varepsilon ^{2}}}\right)} samples, where ε {\displaystyle \varepsilon } is the learning error and δ {\displaystyle \delta } is the failure probability. Thus, the sample-complexity is a linear function of the VC dimension of the hypothesis space. === In computational geometry === The VC dimension is one of the critical parameters in the size of ε-nets, which determines the complexity of approximation algorithms based on them; range sets without finite VC dimension may not have finite ε-nets at all. == Bounds == The VC dimension of the dual set-family of C {\displaystyle {\mathcal {C}}} is strictly less than 2 vc ⁡ ( C ) + 1 {\displaystyle 2^{\operatorname {vc} ({\mathcal {C}})+1}} , and this is best possible. The VC dimension of a finite set-family C {\displaystyle {\mathcal {C}}} is at most log 2 ⁡ | C | {\displaystyle \log _{2}|{\mathcal {C}}|} . This is because | C ∩ X | ≤ | X | {\displaystyle |{\mathcal {C}}\cap X|\leq |X|} by definition. Given a set-fa

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  • Prefrontal cortex basal ganglia working memory

    Prefrontal cortex basal ganglia working memory

    Prefrontal cortex basal ganglia working memory (PBWM) is an algorithm that models working memory in the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia. It can be compared to long short-term memory (LSTM) in functionality, but is more biologically explainable. It uses the primary value learned value model to train prefrontal cortex working-memory updating system, based on the biology of the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. It is used as part of the Leabra framework and was implemented in Emergent in 2019. == Abstract == The prefrontal cortex has long been thought to subserve both working memory (the holding of information online for processing) and "executive" functions (deciding how to manipulate working memory and perform processing). Although many computational models of working memory have been developed, the mechanistic basis of executive function remains elusive. PBWM is a computational model of the prefrontal cortex to control both itself and other brain areas in a strategic, task-appropriate manner. These learning mechanisms are based on subcortical structures in the midbrain, basal ganglia and amygdala, which together form an actor/critic architecture. The critic system learns which prefrontal representations are task-relevant and trains the actor, which in turn provides a dynamic gating mechanism for controlling working memory updating. Computationally, the learning mechanism is designed to simultaneously solve the temporal and structural credit assignment problems. The model's performance compares favorably with standard backpropagation-based temporal learning mechanisms on the challenging 1-2-AX working memory task, and other benchmark working memory tasks. == Model == First, there are multiple separate stripes (groups of units) in the prefrontal cortex and striatum layers. Each stripe can be independently updated, such that this system can remember several different things at the same time, each with a different "updating policy" of when memories are updated and maintained. The active maintenance of the memory is in prefrontal cortex (PFC), and the updating signals (and updating policy more generally) come from the striatum units (a subset of basal ganglia units). PVLV provides reinforcement learning signals to train up the dynamic gating system in the basal ganglia. === Sensory input and motor output === The sensory input is connected to the posterior cortex which is connected to the motor output. The sensory input is also linked to the PVLV system. === Posterior cortex === The posterior cortex form the hidden layers of the input/output mapping. The PFC is connected with the posterior cortex to contextualize this input/output mapping. === PFC === The PFC (for output gating) has a localist one-to-one representation of the input units for every stripe. Thus, you can look at these PFC representations and see directly what the network is maintaining. The PFC maintains the working memory needed to perform the task. === Striatum === This is the dynamic gating system representing the striatum units of the basal ganglia. Every even-index unit within a stripe represents "Go", while the odd-index units represent "NoGo." The Go units cause updating of the PFC, while the NoGo units cause the PFC to maintain its existing memory representation. There are groups of units for every stripe. In the PBWM model in Emergent, the matrices represent the striatum. === PVLV === All of these layers are part of PVLV system. The PVLV system controls the dopaminergic modulation of the basal ganglia (BG). Thus, BG/PVLV form an actor-critic architecture where the PVLV system learns when to update. ==== SNrThal ==== SNrThal represents the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) and the associated area of the thalamus, which produce a competition among the Go/NoGo units within a given stripe and mediates competition using k-winners-take-all dynamics. If there is more overall Go activity in a given stripe, then the associated SNrThal unit gets activated, and it drives updating in PFC. For every stripe, there is one unit in SNrThal. ==== VTA and SNc ==== Ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) are part of the dopamine layer. This layer models midbrain dopamine neurons. They control the dopaminergic modulation of the basal ganglia.

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  • Biopython

    Biopython

    Biopython is an open-source collection of non-commercial Python modules for computational biology and bioinformatics. It makes robust and well-tested code easily accessible to researchers. Python is an object-oriented programming language and is a suitable choice for automation of common tasks. The availability of reusable libraries saves development time and lets researchers focus on addressing scientific questions. Biopython is constantly updated and maintained by a large team of volunteers across the globe. Biopython contains parsers for diverse bioinformatic sequence, alignment, and structure formats. Sequence formats include FASTA, FASTQ, GenBank, and EMBL. Alignment formats include Clustal, BLAST, PHYLIP, and NEXUS. Structural formats include the PDB, which contains the 3D atomic coordinates of the macromolecules. It has provisions to access information from biological databases like NCBI, Expasy, PBD, and BioSQL. This can be used in scripts or incorporated into their software. Biopython contains a standard sequence class, sequence alignment, and motif analysis tools. It also has clustering algorithms, a module for structural biology, and a module for phylogenetics analysis. == History == The development of Biopython began in 1999, and it was first released in July 2000. First "semi-complete" and "semi-stable" release was done in March 2001 and December 2002 respectively. It was developed during a similar time frame and with analogous goals to other projects that added bioinformatics capabilities to their respective programming languages, including BioPerl, BioRuby and BioJava. Early developers on the project included Jeff Chang, Andrew Dalke and Brad Chapman, though over 100 people have made contributions to date. In 2007, a similar Python project, namely PyCogent, was established. The initial scope of Biopython involved accessing, indexing and processing biological sequence files. The retrieved data from common biological databases will then be parsed into a python data structure. While this is still a major focus, over the following years added modules have extended its functionality to cover additional areas of biology. The key challenge in the design of parsers for bioinformatics file formats is the frequency at which the data formats change. This is due to inadequate curation of the structure of the data, and changes in the database contents. This problem is overcome by the application of a standard event-oriented parser design (see Key features and examples). As of version 1.77, Biopython no longer supports Python 2. The current stable release of Biopython version 1.85 was released on 15 January 2025. It only supports Python 3 and the recent releases of Biopython require NumPy (and not Numeric). == Design == Wherever possible, Biopython follows the conventions used by the Python programming language to make it easier for users familiar with Python. For example, Seq and SeqRecord objects can be manipulated via slicing, in a manner similar to Python's strings and lists. It is also designed to be functionally similar to other Bio projects, such as BioPerl. It is organized into modular sub-packages, e.g., Bio.Seq, Bio.Align, Bio.PDB, Bio.Entrez each of them useful in a different bioinformatics domain. It used principles, like encapsulation and polymorphism, notably in classes Seq, SeqRecord, and Bio.PDB.Structure. It can also interoperate with other Python tools (Pandas, Matplotlib and SciPy). Biopython can read and write most common file formats for each of its functional areas, and its license is permissive and compatible with most other software licenses, which allows Biopython to be used in a variety of software projects. == Requirements == Biopython is currently supported and tested with the following Python implementations: Python 3 or PyPy3 NumPy == Key features and examples == === Input and output === Biopython can read and write to a number of common formats. When reading files, descriptive information in the file is used to populate the members of Biopython classes, such as SeqRecord. This allows records of one file format to be converted into others. Very large sequence files can exceed a computer's memory resources, so Biopython provides various options for accessing records in large files. They can be loaded entirely into memory in Python data structures, such as lists or dictionaries, providing fast access at the cost of memory usage. Alternatively, the files can be read from disk as needed, with slower performance but lower memory requirements. === Sequences === A core concept in Biopython is the biological sequence, and this is represented by the Seq class. A Biopython Seq object is similar to a Python string in many respects: it supports the Python slice notation, can be concatenated with other sequences and is immutable. This object includes both general string-like and biological sequence-specific methods. It is best to store information about the biological type (DNA, RNA, protein) separately from the sequence, rather than using an explicit alphabet argument. === Sequence annotation === The SeqRecord class describes sequences, along with information such as name, description and features in the form of SeqFeature objects. Each SeqFeature object specifies the type of the feature and its location. Feature types can be ‘gene’, ‘CDS’ (coding sequence), ‘repeat_region’, ‘mobile_element’ or others, and the position of features in the sequence can be exact or approximate. === Accessing online databases === Through the Bio.Entrez module, users of Biopython can download biological data from NCBI databases. Each of the functions provided by the Entrez search engine is available through functions in this module, including searching for and downloading records. === Phylogeny === The Bio.Phylo module provides tools for working with and visualising phylogenetic trees. A variety of file formats are supported for reading and writing, including Newick, NEXUS and phyloXML. Common tree manipulations and traversals are supported via the Tree and Clade objects. Examples include converting and collating tree files, extracting subsets from a tree, changing a tree's root, and analysing branch features such as length or score. Rooted trees can be drawn in ASCII or using matplotlib (see Figure 1), and the Graphviz library can be used to create unrooted layouts (see Figure 2). === Genome diagrams === The GenomeDiagram module provides methods of visualising sequences within Biopython. Sequences can be drawn in a linear or circular form (see Figure 3), and many output formats are supported, including PDF and PNG. Diagrams are created by making tracks and then adding sequence features to those tracks. By looping over a sequence's features and using their attributes to decide if and how they are added to the diagram's tracks, one can exercise much control over the appearance of the final diagram. Cross-links can be drawn between different tracks, allowing one to compare multiple sequences in a single diagram. === Macromolecular structure === The Bio.PDB module can load molecular structures from PDB and mmCIF files, and was added to Biopython in 2003. The Structure object is central to this module, and it organises macromolecular structure in a hierarchical fashion: Structure objects contain Model objects which contain Chain objects which contain Residue objects which contain Atom objects. Disordered residues and atoms get their own classes, DisorderedResidue and DisorderedAtom, that describe their uncertain positions. Using Bio.PDB, one can navigate through individual components of a macromolecular structure file, such as examining each atom in a protein. Common analyses can be carried out, such as measuring distances or angles, comparing residues and calculating residue depth. === Population genetics === The Bio.PopGen module adds support to Biopython for Genepop, a software package for statistical analysis of population genetics. This allows for analyses of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, linkage disequilibrium and other features of a population's allele frequencies. This module can also carry out population genetic simulations using coalescent theory with the fastsimcoal2 program. === Wrappers for command line tools === Biopython previously included command-line wrappers for tools such as BLAST, Clustal, EMBOSS, and SAMtools. This option allowed users to run external tool commands from within the code using specialized Biopython classes. However, Bio.Application modules and their wrappers have deprecated and will be removed in future Biopython releases. The main reason for this is the high maintenance burden of updating them with the evolving external tools. The recommended approach is to directly construct and execute command-line tool commands using Python’s built-in subprocess module. This method provides flexibility and removes the dependency on the Biopython wrappers. subprocess is a native Python module useful for running ext

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  • Nearest neighbor search

    Nearest neighbor search

    Nearest neighbor search (NNS), as a form of proximity search, is the optimization problem of finding the point in a given set that is closest (or most similar) to a given point. Closeness is typically expressed in terms of a dissimilarity function: the less similar the objects, the larger the function values. Formally, the nearest neighbor (NN) search problem is defined as follows: given a set S of points in a space M and a query point q ∈ M {\displaystyle q\in M} , find the closest point in S to q. Donald Knuth in volume 3 of The Art of Computer Programming (1973) called it the post-office problem, referring to an application of assigning to a residence the nearest post office. A direct generalization of this problem is a k-NN search, where we need to find the k closest points. Most commonly M is a metric space and dissimilarity is expressed as a distance metric, which is symmetric and satisfies the triangle inequality. Even more common, M is taken to be the d-dimensional vector space where dissimilarity is measured using the Euclidean distance, Manhattan distance or other distance metric. However, the dissimilarity function can be arbitrary. One example is asymmetric Bregman divergence, for which the triangle inequality does not hold. == Applications == The nearest neighbor search problem arises in numerous fields of application, including: Pattern recognition – in particular for optical character recognition Statistical classification – see k-nearest neighbor algorithm Computer vision – for point cloud registration Computational geometry – see Closest pair of points problem Cryptanalysis – for lattice problem Databases – e.g. content-based image retrieval Coding theory – see maximum likelihood decoding Semantic search Vector databases, where nearest-neighbor lookup over embeddings is used to retrieve semantically similar records Retrieval-augmented generation systems, where nearest-neighbor retrieval over embeddings is used to fetch candidate passages or documents before generation Data compression – see MPEG-2 standard Robotic sensing Recommendation systems, e.g. see Collaborative filtering Internet marketing – see contextual advertising and behavioral targeting DNA sequencing Spell checking – suggesting correct spelling Plagiarism detection Similarity scores for predicting career paths of professional athletes. Cluster analysis – assignment of a set of observations into subsets (called clusters) so that observations in the same cluster are similar in some sense, usually based on Euclidean distance Chemical similarity Sampling-based motion planning == Methods == Various solutions to the NNS problem have been proposed. The quality and usefulness of the algorithms are determined by the time complexity of queries as well as the space complexity of any search data structures that must be maintained. The informal observation usually referred to as the curse of dimensionality states that there is no general-purpose exact solution for NNS in high-dimensional Euclidean space using polynomial preprocessing and polylogarithmic search time. === Exact methods === ==== Linear search ==== The simplest solution to the NNS problem is to compute the distance from the query point to every other point in the database, keeping track of the "best so far". This algorithm, sometimes referred to as the naive approach, has a running time of O(dN), where N is the cardinality of S and d is the dimensionality of S. There are no search data structures to maintain, so the linear search has no space complexity beyond the storage of the database. Naive search can, on average, outperform space partitioning approaches on higher dimensional spaces. The absolute distance is not required for distance comparison, only the relative distance. In geometric coordinate systems the distance calculation can be sped up considerably by omitting the square root calculation from the distance calculation between two coordinates. The distance comparison will still yield identical results. ==== Space partitioning ==== Since the 1970s, the branch and bound methodology has been applied to the problem. In the case of Euclidean space, this approach encompasses spatial index or spatial access methods. Several space-partitioning methods have been developed for solving the NNS problem. Perhaps the simplest is the k-d tree, which iteratively bisects the search space into two regions containing half of the points of the parent region. Queries are performed via traversal of the tree from the root to a leaf by evaluating the query point at each split. Depending on the distance specified in the query, neighboring branches that might contain hits may also need to be evaluated. For constant dimension query time, average complexity is O(log N) in the case of randomly distributed points, worst case complexity is O(kN^(1-1/k)) Alternatively the R-tree data structure was designed to support nearest neighbor search in dynamic context, as it has efficient algorithms for insertions and deletions such as the R tree. R-trees can yield nearest neighbors not only for Euclidean distance, but can also be used with other distances. In the case of general metric space, the branch-and-bound approach is known as the metric tree approach. Particular examples include vp-tree and BK-tree methods. Using a set of points taken from a 3-dimensional space and put into a BSP tree, and given a query point taken from the same space, a possible solution to the problem of finding the nearest point-cloud point to the query point is given in the following description of an algorithm. (Strictly speaking, no such point may exist, because it may not be unique. But in practice, usually we only care about finding any one of the subset of all point-cloud points that exist at the shortest distance to a given query point.) The idea is, for each branching of the tree, guess that the closest point in the cloud resides in the half-space containing the query point. This may not be the case, but it is a good heuristic. After having recursively gone through all the trouble of solving the problem for the guessed half-space, now compare the distance returned by this result with the shortest distance from the query point to the partitioning plane. This latter distance is that between the query point and the closest possible point that could exist in the half-space not searched. If this distance is greater than that returned in the earlier result, then clearly there is no need to search the other half-space. If there is such a need, then you must go through the trouble of solving the problem for the other half space, and then compare its result to the former result, and then return the proper result. The performance of this algorithm is nearer to logarithmic time than linear time when the query point is near the cloud, because as the distance between the query point and the closest point-cloud point nears zero, the algorithm needs only perform a look-up using the query point as a key to get the correct result. === Approximation methods === An approximate nearest neighbor search algorithm is allowed to return points whose distance from the query is at most c {\displaystyle c} times the distance from the query to its nearest points. The appeal of this approach is that, in many cases, an approximate nearest neighbor is almost as good as the exact one. In particular, if the distance measure accurately captures the notion of user quality, then small differences in the distance should not matter. ==== Greedy search in proximity neighborhood graphs ==== Proximity graph methods (such as navigable small world graphs and HNSW) are considered the current state-of-the-art for the approximate nearest neighbors search. The methods are based on greedy traversing in proximity neighborhood graphs G ( V , E ) {\displaystyle G(V,E)} in which every point x i ∈ S {\displaystyle x_{i}\in S} is uniquely associated with vertex v i ∈ V {\displaystyle v_{i}\in V} . The search for the nearest neighbors to a query q in the set S takes the form of searching for the vertex in the graph G ( V , E ) {\displaystyle G(V,E)} . The basic algorithm – greedy search – works as follows: search starts from an enter-point vertex v i ∈ V {\displaystyle v_{i}\in V} by computing the distances from the query q to each vertex of its neighborhood { v j : ( v i , v j ) ∈ E } {\displaystyle \{v_{j}:(v_{i},v_{j})\in E\}} , and then finds a vertex with the minimal distance value. If the distance value between the query and the selected vertex is smaller than the one between the query and the current element, then the algorithm moves to the selected vertex, and it becomes new enter-point. The algorithm stops when it reaches a local minimum: a vertex whose neighborhood does not contain a vertex that is closer to the query than the vertex itself. The idea of proximity neighborhood graphs was exploited in multiple publications, including the seminal paper by Arya and Mount, in the VoroNet syst

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  • Accumulated local effects

    Accumulated local effects

    Accumulated local effects (ALE) is a machine learning interpretability method. == Concepts == ALE uses a conditional feature distribution as an input and generates augmented data, creating more realistic data than a marginal distribution. It ignores far out-of-distribution (outlier) values. Unlike partial dependence plots and marginal plots, ALE is not defeated in the presence of correlated predictors. It analyzes differences in predictions instead of averaging them by calculating the average of the differences in model predictions over the augmented data, instead of the average of the predictions themselves. == Example == Given a model that predicts house prices based on its distance from city center and size of the building area, ALE compares the differences of predictions of houses of different sizes. The result separates the impact of the size from otherwise correlated features. == Limitations == Defining evaluation windows is subjective. High correlations between features can defeat the technique. ALE requires more and more uniformly distributed observations than PDP so that the conditional distribution can be reliably determined. The technique may produce inadequate results if the data is highly sparse, which is more common with high-dimensional data (curse of dimensionality).

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  • Multi-label classification

    Multi-label classification

    In machine learning, multi-label classification or multi-output classification is a variant of the classification problem where multiple nonexclusive labels may be assigned to each instance. Multi-label classification is a generalization of multiclass classification, which is the single-label problem of categorizing instances into precisely one of several (greater than or equal to two) classes. In the multi-label problem the labels are nonexclusive and there is no constraint on how many of the classes the instance can be assigned to. The formulation of multi-label learning was first introduced by Shen et al. in the context of Semantic Scene Classification, and later gained popularity across various areas of machine learning. Formally, multi-label classification is the problem of finding a model that maps inputs x to binary vectors y; that is, it assigns a value of 0 or 1 for each element (label) in y. == Problem transformation methods == Several problem transformation methods exist for multi-label classification, and can be roughly broken down into: === Transformation into binary classification problems === The baseline approach, called the binary relevance method, amounts to independently training one binary classifier for each label. Given an unseen sample, the combined model then predicts all labels for this sample for which the respective classifiers predict a positive result. Although this method of dividing the task into multiple binary tasks may resemble superficially the one-vs.-all (OvA) and one-vs.-rest (OvR) methods for multiclass classification, it is essentially different from both, because a single classifier under binary relevance deals with a single label, without any regard to other labels whatsoever. A classifier chain is an alternative method for transforming a multi-label classification problem into several binary classification problems. It differs from binary relevance in that labels are predicted sequentially, and the output of all previous classifiers (i.e. positive or negative for a particular label) are input as features to subsequent classifiers. Classifier chains have been applied, for instance, in HIV drug resistance prediction. Bayesian network has also been applied to optimally order classifiers in Classifier chains. In case of transforming the problem to multiple binary classifications, the likelihood function reads L = ∏ i = 1 n ( ∏ k ( ∏ j k ( p k , j k ( x i ) δ y i , k , j k ) ) ) {\displaystyle L=\prod _{i=1}^{n}(\prod _{k}(\prod _{j_{k}}(p_{k,j_{k}}(x_{i})^{\delta _{y_{i,k},j_{k}}})))} where index i {\displaystyle i} runs over the samples, index k {\displaystyle k} runs over the labels, j k {\displaystyle j_{k}} indicates the binary outcomes 0 or 1, δ a , b {\displaystyle \delta _{a,b}} indicates the Kronecker delta, y i , k ∈ 0 , 1 {\displaystyle y_{i,k}\in {0,1}} indicates the multiple hot encoded labels of sample i {\displaystyle i} . === Transformation into multi-class classification problem === The label powerset (LP) transformation creates one binary classifier for every label combination present in the training set. For example, if possible labels for an example were A, B, and C, the label powerset representation of this problem is a multi-class classification problem with the classes [0 0 0], [1 0 0], [0 1 0], [0 0 1], [1 1 0], [1 0 1], [0 1 1], and [1 1 1] where for example [1 0 1] denotes an example where labels A and C are present and label B is absent. === Ensemble methods === A set of multi-class classifiers can be used to create a multi-label ensemble classifier. For a given example, each classifier outputs a single class (corresponding to a single label in the multi-label problem). These predictions are then combined by an ensemble method, usually a voting scheme where every class that receives a requisite percentage of votes from individual classifiers (often referred to as the discrimination threshold) is predicted as a present label in the multi-label output. However, more complex ensemble methods exist, such as committee machines. Another variation is the random k-labelsets (RAKEL) algorithm, which uses multiple LP classifiers, each trained on a random subset of the actual labels; label prediction is then carried out by a voting scheme. A set of multi-label classifiers can be used in a similar way to create a multi-label ensemble classifier. In this case, each classifier votes once for each label it predicts rather than for a single label. == Adapted algorithms == Some classification algorithms/models have been adapted to the multi-label task, without requiring problem transformations. Examples of these including for multi-label data are k-nearest neighbors: the ML-kNN algorithm extends the k-NN classifier to multi-label data. decision trees: "Clare" is an adapted C4.5 algorithm for multi-label classification; the modification involves the entropy calculations. MMC, MMDT, and SSC refined MMDT, can classify multi-labeled data based on multi-valued attributes without transforming the attributes into single-values. They are also named multi-valued and multi-labeled decision tree classification methods. kernel methods for vector output neural networks: BP-MLL is an adaptation of the popular back-propagation algorithm for multi-label learning. == Learning paradigms == Based on learning paradigms, the existing multi-label classification techniques can be classified into batch learning and online machine learning. Batch learning algorithms require all the data samples to be available beforehand. It trains the model using the entire training data and then predicts the test sample using the found relationship. The online learning algorithms, on the other hand, incrementally build their models in sequential iterations. In iteration t, an online algorithm receives a sample, xt and predicts its label(s) ŷt using the current model; the algorithm then receives yt, the true label(s) of xt and updates its model based on the sample-label pair: (xt, yt). == Multi-label stream classification == Data streams are possibly infinite sequences of data that continuously and rapidly grow over time. Multi-label stream classification (MLSC) is the version of multi-label classification task that takes place in data streams. It is sometimes also called online multi-label classification. The difficulties of multi-label classification (exponential number of possible label sets, capturing dependencies between labels) are combined with difficulties of data streams (time and memory constraints, addressing infinite stream with finite means, concept drifts). Many MLSC methods resort to ensemble methods in order to increase their predictive performance and deal with concept drifts. Below are the most widely used ensemble methods in the literature: Online Bagging (OzaBagging)-based methods: Observing the probability of having K many of a certain data point in a bootstrap sample is approximately Poisson(1) for big datasets, each incoming data instance in a data stream can be weighted proportional to Poisson(1) distribution to mimic bootstrapping in an online setting. This is called Online Bagging (OzaBagging). Many multi-label methods that use Online Bagging are proposed in the literature, each of which utilizes different problem transformation methods. EBR, ECC, EPS, EBRT, EBMT, ML-Random Rules are examples of such methods. ADWIN Bagging-based methods: Online Bagging methods for MLSC are sometimes combined with explicit concept drift detection mechanisms such as ADWIN (Adaptive Window). ADWIN keeps a variable-sized window to detect changes in the distribution of the data, and improves the ensemble by resetting the components that perform poorly when there is a drift in the incoming data. Generally, the letter 'a' is used as a subscript in the name of such ensembles to indicate the usage of ADWIN change detector. EaBR, EaCC, EaHTPS are examples of such multi-label ensembles. GOOWE-ML-based methods: Interpreting the relevance scores of each component of the ensemble as vectors in the label space and solving a least squares problem at the end of each batch, Geometrically-Optimum Online-Weighted Ensemble for Multi-label Classification (GOOWE-ML) is proposed. The ensemble tries to minimize the distance between the weighted prediction of its components and the ground truth vector for each instance over a batch. Unlike Online Bagging and ADWIN Bagging, GOOWE-ML utilizes a weighted voting scheme where better performing components of the ensemble are given more weight. The GOOWE-ML ensemble grows over time, and the lowest weight component is replaced by a new component when it is full at the end of a batch. GOBR, GOCC, GOPS, GORT are the proposed GOOWE-ML-based multi-label ensembles. Multiple Windows : Here, BR models that use a sliding window are replaced with two windows for each label, one for relevant and one for non-relevant examples. Instances are oversampled or undersampled according to a load factor that is kept

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  • Application enablement

    Application enablement

    Application enablement is an approach which brings telecommunications network providers and developers together to combine their network and web abilities in creating and delivering high demand advanced services and new intelligent applications. Network providers, in addition to bandwidth, provide abilities such as billing, location, presence, and security, which have allowed them to establish long-term relationships with end-users. By offering these select abilities as application programming interfaces (APIs), providers give developers access to a set of tools to create (mashup) new applications and services to run on provider networks. Unifying the strengths of providers and developers facilitates the creation of mash-up applications, and in turn, a better end user quality of experience (QoE) for improved profit margins. Apple's iOS with App Store, and Google's Android with Android Market exemplify this approach. Both have introduced mobile platforms that are supported by a comprehensive ecosystem in order to perpetuate innovation in product design, content and service offerings, and overall consumer behavior. By the end of April 2010, downloadable applications numbered over 200,000 for iPhone and over 50,000 for Android. == Background == Historically, telecommunication providers primarily based their business models on network performance, emphasizing connectivity, availability, and quality of service (QoS) as key sources of revenue and customer value. With the increasing demand for bandwidth-intensive data and video applications, maintaining service continuity has required substantial infrastructure investments. To address rising operational costs and declining average revenue per user (ARPU), providers have increasingly adopted customer-oriented strategies and diversified business models to expand their roles within the telecommunications value chain. Application enablement supports providers in making this transition by providing an environment, or ecosystem, where providers and developers can collaborate to build, test, manage, and distribute applications across networks including television, broadband, Internet, and mobile. This cooperative effort produces mutually beneficial results for all parties, opening up new revenue streams while enhancing value and rate of return (ROI). The following are some examples of key network abilities which function as application enablers in the telecommunications market: Billing systems Security for private transactions Network-based storage of digital content End-to-end bandwidth for high-quality transmissions Scoring abilities to identify end-user preferences and behaviors Subscriber data to customize the end-user experience Context information, such as location and presence, to localize services. == New business models == As network providers work toward effective collaboration with application and content developers, several new business models are emerging to help facilitate the business relationships: === Vendor-led === A type of business model driven by telecommunications vendors, who assist network providers in building relationships with application and content developers to lower the cost and complexity of managing third parties. Examples of this model include: Forum Nokia IBM Technology Partner Ecosystem Ng Connect Huawei Intouch program === Operator-led === Characterized by network providers who want to maintain a high degree of flexibility and control over applications created for their end-consumers, this model lets them create and manage their own developer program, development platform, and application store. Under this arrangement, independent developers provide their own branding, marketing communications, pricing and customer care. Network providers pursuing this model will often seek to partner with a large number of third parties using standardized on-boarding processes. Examples of this model include: o2 Litmus Orange Partner Joint Innovation Lab === Aggregator === Network providers who choose not to create/manage their own developer relationships will partner with one or multiple aggregators, to administer a portion of or their entire application strategy. Examples of this model include: Ovi Operator Partnership Blackberry Operator Partnership Cellmania Buongiorno === Mass wholesale === Select network providers also participate in wholesale models that exist primarily for applications (BT's Ribbit- an Internet Protocol (IP) based calling and messaging platform) and devices (Verizon's Open Device initiative). This business-to-business approach reduces a large portion of the potential costs of third party application enablement (marketing, acquisition and support). Examples of this model include: BT's Ribbit Verizon Wireless ODI AT&T Synaptic Hosting === The enterprise customer === Some network providers are focusing on enabling applications in the enterprise space. In this model, the network provider establishes a platform for their large enterprise customers who want to blend custom software with enhanced abilities, and will provide standardized processes around mobilizing enterprise applications, and exposing core back-office abilities to allow for dynamic customer interaction. Examples of this model include: Vodafone Applications Service Verizon Private Network Sprint Solution Launchpad === Trusted partner === In this model, the network provider builds one-on-one relationships with trusted third-party developers by exposing customized network abilities, bringing a greater variety of brands to the network provider's portfolio. Network providers using this model tend to only have a few partners (in contrast to the operator led model). Under this scenario, network providers benefit from a pre-established customer base and the developer's marketing resources. Examples of this model include: 3/Skype Partnership (UK) Virgin Media and BBC iPlayer == Network operator developer resources == Operator led model o2 Litmus Orange Partner Joint Innovations Lab Aggregator model Ovi Operator Partnership Cellmania Buongiorno Mass wholesale model BT Ribbit Verizon Wireless ODI AT&T Synaptic Hosting Enterprise customer model Vodafone Applications Service Verizon Private Network Sprint Solution Launchpad == Rerencesfe ==

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  • AdaBoost

    AdaBoost

    AdaBoost (short for Adaptive Boosting) is a statistical classification meta-algorithm formulated by Yoav Freund and Robert Schapire in 1995, who won the 2003 Gödel Prize for their work. It can be used in conjunction with many types of learning algorithm to improve performance. The output of multiple weak learners is combined into a weighted sum that represents the final output of the boosted classifier. Usually, AdaBoost is presented for binary classification, although it can be generalized to multiple classes or bounded intervals of real values. AdaBoost is adaptive in the sense that subsequent weak learners (models) are adjusted in favor of instances misclassified by previous models. In some problems, it can be less susceptible to overfitting than other learning algorithms. The individual learners can be weak, but as long as the performance of each one is slightly better than random guessing, the final model can be proven to converge to a strong learner. Although AdaBoost is typically used to combine weak base learners (such as decision stumps), it has been shown to also effectively combine strong base learners (such as deeper decision trees), producing an even more accurate model. Every learning algorithm tends to suit some problem types better than others, and typically has many different parameters and configurations to adjust before it achieves optimal performance on a dataset. AdaBoost (with decision trees as the weak learners) is often referred to as the best out-of-the-box classifier. When used with decision tree learning, information gathered at each stage of the AdaBoost algorithm about the relative 'hardness' of each training sample is fed into the tree-growing algorithm such that later trees tend to focus on harder-to-classify examples. == Training == AdaBoost refers to a particular method of training a boosted classifier. A boosted classifier is a classifier of the form F T ( x ) = ∑ t = 1 T f t ( x ) {\displaystyle F_{T}(x)=\sum _{t=1}^{T}f_{t}(x)} where each f t {\displaystyle f_{t}} is a weak learner that takes an object x {\displaystyle x} as input and returns a value indicating the class of the object. For example, in the two-class problem, the sign of the weak learner's output identifies the predicted object class and the absolute value gives the confidence in that classification. Each weak learner produces an output hypothesis h {\displaystyle h} which fixes a prediction h ( x i ) {\displaystyle h(x_{i})} for each sample in the training set. At each iteration t {\displaystyle t} , a weak learner is selected and assigned a coefficient α t {\displaystyle \alpha _{t}} such that the total training error E t {\displaystyle E_{t}} of the resulting t {\displaystyle t} -stage boosted classifier is minimized. E t = ∑ i E [ F t − 1 ( x i ) + α t h ( x i ) ] {\displaystyle E_{t}=\sum _{i}E[F_{t-1}(x_{i})+\alpha _{t}h(x_{i})]} Here F t − 1 ( x ) {\displaystyle F_{t-1}(x)} is the boosted classifier that has been built up to the previous stage of training and f t ( x ) = α t h ( x ) {\displaystyle f_{t}(x)=\alpha _{t}h(x)} is the weak learner that is being considered for addition to the final classifier. === Weighting === At each iteration of the training process, a weight w i , t {\displaystyle w_{i,t}} is assigned to each sample in the training set equal to the current error E ( F t − 1 ( x i ) ) {\displaystyle E(F_{t-1}(x_{i}))} on that sample. These weights can be used in the training of the weak learner. For instance, decision trees can be grown which favor the splitting of sets of samples with large weights. == Derivation == This derivation follows Rojas (2009): Suppose we have a data set { ( x 1 , y 1 ) , … , ( x N , y N ) } {\displaystyle \{(x_{1},y_{1}),\ldots ,(x_{N},y_{N})\}} where each item x i {\displaystyle x_{i}} has an associated class y i ∈ { − 1 , 1 } {\displaystyle y_{i}\in \{-1,1\}} , and a set of weak classifiers { k 1 , … , k L } {\displaystyle \{k_{1},\ldots ,k_{L}\}} each of which outputs a classification k j ( x i ) ∈ { − 1 , 1 } {\displaystyle k_{j}(x_{i})\in \{-1,1\}} for each item. After the ( m − 1 ) {\displaystyle (m-1)} -th iteration our boosted classifier is a linear combination of the weak classifiers of the form: C ( m − 1 ) ( x i ) = α 1 k 1 ( x i ) + ⋯ + α m − 1 k m − 1 ( x i ) , {\displaystyle C_{(m-1)}(x_{i})=\alpha _{1}k_{1}(x_{i})+\cdots +\alpha _{m-1}k_{m-1}(x_{i}),} where the class will be the sign of C ( m − 1 ) ( x i ) {\displaystyle C_{(m-1)}(x_{i})} . At the m {\displaystyle m} -th iteration we want to extend this to a better boosted classifier by adding another weak classifier k m {\displaystyle k_{m}} , with another weight α m {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}} : C m ( x i ) = C ( m − 1 ) ( x i ) + α m k m ( x i ) {\displaystyle C_{m}(x_{i})=C_{(m-1)}(x_{i})+\alpha _{m}k_{m}(x_{i})} So it remains to determine which weak classifier is the best choice for k m {\displaystyle k_{m}} , and what its weight α m {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}} should be. We define the total error E {\displaystyle E} of C m {\displaystyle C_{m}} as the sum of its exponential loss on each data point, given as follows: E = ∑ i = 1 N e − y i C m ( x i ) = ∑ i = 1 N e − y i C ( m − 1 ) ( x i ) e − y i α m k m ( x i ) {\displaystyle E=\sum _{i=1}^{N}e^{-y_{i}C_{m}(x_{i})}=\sum _{i=1}^{N}e^{-y_{i}C_{(m-1)}(x_{i})}e^{-y_{i}\alpha _{m}k_{m}(x_{i})}} Letting w i ( 1 ) = 1 {\displaystyle w_{i}^{(1)}=1} and w i ( m ) = e − y i C m − 1 ( x i ) {\displaystyle w_{i}^{(m)}=e^{-y_{i}C_{m-1}(x_{i})}} for m > 1 {\displaystyle m>1} , we have: E = ∑ i = 1 N w i ( m ) e − y i α m k m ( x i ) {\displaystyle E=\sum _{i=1}^{N}w_{i}^{(m)}e^{-y_{i}\alpha _{m}k_{m}(x_{i})}} We can split this summation between those data points that are correctly classified by k m {\displaystyle k_{m}} (so y i k m ( x i ) = 1 {\displaystyle y_{i}k_{m}(x_{i})=1} ) and those that are misclassified (so y i k m ( x i ) = − 1 {\displaystyle y_{i}k_{m}(x_{i})=-1} ): E = ∑ y i = k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) e − α m + ∑ y i ≠ k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) e α m = ∑ i = 1 N w i ( m ) e − α m + ∑ y i ≠ k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) ( e α m − e − α m ) {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}E&=\sum _{y_{i}=k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}e^{-\alpha _{m}}+\sum _{y_{i}\neq k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}e^{\alpha _{m}}\\&=\sum _{i=1}^{N}w_{i}^{(m)}e^{-\alpha _{m}}+\sum _{y_{i}\neq k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}\left(e^{\alpha _{m}}-e^{-\alpha _{m}}\right)\end{aligned}}} Since the only part of the right-hand side of this equation that depends on k m {\displaystyle k_{m}} is ∑ y i ≠ k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) {\textstyle \sum _{y_{i}\neq k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}} , we see that the k m {\displaystyle k_{m}} that minimizes E {\displaystyle E} is the one in the set { k 1 , … , k L } {\displaystyle \{k_{1},\ldots ,k_{L}\}} that minimizes ∑ y i ≠ k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) {\textstyle \sum _{y_{i}\neq k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}} [assuming that α m > 0 {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}>0} ], i.e. the weak classifier with the lowest weighted error (with weights w i ( m ) = e − y i C m − 1 ( x i ) {\displaystyle w_{i}^{(m)}=e^{-y_{i}C_{m-1}(x_{i})}} ). To determine the desired weight α m {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}} that minimizes E {\displaystyle E} with the k m {\displaystyle k_{m}} that we just determined, we differentiate: d E d α m = d ( ∑ y i = k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) e − α m + ∑ y i ≠ k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) e α m ) d α m {\displaystyle {\frac {dE}{d\alpha _{m}}}={\frac {d(\sum _{y_{i}=k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}e^{-\alpha _{m}}+\sum _{y_{i}\neq k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}e^{\alpha _{m}})}{d\alpha _{m}}}} The value of α m {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}} that minimizes the above expression is: α m = 1 2 ln ⁡ ( ∑ y i = k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) ∑ y i ≠ k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) ) {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}={\frac {1}{2}}\ln \left({\frac {\sum _{y_{i}=k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}}{\sum _{y_{i}\neq k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}}}\right)} We calculate the weighted error rate of the weak classifier to be ϵ m = ∑ y i ≠ k m ( x i ) w i ( m ) ∑ i = 1 N w i ( m ) {\displaystyle \epsilon _{m}={\frac {\sum _{y_{i}\neq k_{m}(x_{i})}w_{i}^{(m)}}{\sum _{i=1}^{N}w_{i}^{(m)}}}} , so it follows that: α m = 1 2 ln ⁡ ( 1 − ϵ m ϵ m ) {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}={\frac {1}{2}}\ln \left({\frac {1-\epsilon _{m}}{\epsilon _{m}}}\right)} which is the negative logit function multiplied by 0.5. Due to the convexity of E {\displaystyle E} as a function of α m {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}} , this new expression for α m {\displaystyle \alpha _{m}} gives the global minimum of the loss function. Note: This derivation only applies when k m ( x i ) ∈ { − 1 , 1 } {\displaystyle k_{m}(x_{i})\in \{-1,1\}} , though it can be a good starting guess in other cases, such as when the weak learner is biased ( k m ( x ) ∈ { a , b } , a ≠ − b {\displaystyle k_{m}(x)\in \{a,b\},a\neq -b} ), has multiple leaves ( k m ( x ) ∈ { a , b , … , n } {\displaystyle k_{m}(x)\in \{a,b,\dots ,n\}} ) or is some other function k m ( x ) ∈ R {\displaystyle k_{m}(x)\in \mathbb {R} } . Thus we have derived the AdaBoost algorithm: At each

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  • Rectified linear unit

    Rectified linear unit

    In the context of artificial neural networks, the rectifier or ReLU (rectified linear unit) activation function is an activation function defined as the non-negative part of its argument, i.e., the ramp function: ReLU ⁡ ( x ) = x + = max ( 0 , x ) = x + | x | 2 = { x if x > 0 , 0 x ≤ 0 {\displaystyle \operatorname {ReLU} (x)=x^{+}=\max(0,x)={\frac {x+|x|}{2}}={\begin{cases}x&{\text{if }}x>0,\\0&x\leq 0\end{cases}}} where x {\displaystyle x} is the input to a neuron. This is analogous to half-wave rectification in electrical engineering. ReLU is one of the most popular activation functions for artificial neural networks, and finds application in computer vision and speech recognition using deep neural nets and computational neuroscience. == History == The ReLU was first used by Alston Householder in 1941 as a mathematical abstraction of biological neural networks. Kunihiko Fukushima in 1969 used ReLU in the context of visual feature extraction in hierarchical neural networks. In 1998, Gregory Woodbury demonstrated that the rectified linear function could account for a broad range of emergent properties in the visual cortex. His work showed that a single unified model could drive the joint development of refined retinotopic maps, ocular dominance columns, and orientation selectivity. By utilizing the rectifier's "cutoff" property, Woodbury achieved a close quantitative fit to biological data, matching the spatial periodicities and topographic refinement patterns observed in macaque and cat cortical maps. Furthermore, he extended this framework to adult plasticity, accurately replicating the spatial and temporal dynamics of lesion-induced cortical reorganization. This research established that the rectified linear response was a necessary mechanism for the stable self-organisation and maintenance of complex, multi-feature neural maps. In 2000, Hahnloser et al. argued that ReLU approximates the biological relationship between neural firing rates and input current, in addition to enabling recurrent neural network dynamics to stabilise under weaker criteria. Prior to 2010, most activation functions used were the logistic sigmoid (which is inspired by probability theory; see logistic regression) and its more numerically efficient counterpart, the hyperbolic tangent. Around 2010, the use of ReLU became common again. Jarrett et al. (2009) noted that rectification by either absolute or ReLU (which they called "positive part") was critical for object recognition in convolutional neural networks (CNNs), specifically because it allows average pooling without neighboring filter outputs cancelling each other out. They hypothesized that the use of sigmoid or tanh was responsible for poor performance in previous CNNs. Nair and Hinton (2010) made a theoretical argument that the softplus activation function should be used, in that the softplus function numerically approximates the sum of an exponential number of linear models that share parameters. They then proposed ReLU as a good approximation to it. Specifically, they began by considering a single binary neuron in a Boltzmann machine that takes x {\displaystyle x} as input, and produces 1 as output with probability σ ( x ) = 1 1 + e − x {\displaystyle \sigma (x)={\frac {1}{1+e^{-x}}}} . They then considered extending its range of output by making infinitely many copies of it X 1 , X 2 , X 3 , … {\displaystyle X_{1},X_{2},X_{3},\dots } , that all take the same input, offset by an amount 0.5 , 1.5 , 2.5 , … {\displaystyle 0.5,1.5,2.5,\dots } , then their outputs are added together as ∑ i = 1 ∞ X i {\displaystyle \sum _{i=1}^{\infty }X_{i}} . They then demonstrated that ∑ i = 1 ∞ X i {\displaystyle \sum _{i=1}^{\infty }X_{i}} is approximately equal to N ( log ⁡ ( 1 + e x ) , σ ( x ) ) {\displaystyle {\mathcal {N}}(\log(1+e^{x}),\sigma (x))} , which is also approximately equal to ReLU ⁡ ( N ( x , σ ( x ) ) ) {\displaystyle \operatorname {ReLU} ({\mathcal {N}}(x,\sigma (x)))} , where N {\displaystyle {\mathcal {N}}} stands for the gaussian distribution. They also argued for another reason for using ReLU: that it allows "intensity equivariance" in image recognition. That is, multiplying input image by a constant k {\displaystyle k} multiplies the output also. In contrast, this is false for other activation functions like sigmoid or tanh. They found that ReLU activation allowed good empirical performance in restricted Boltzmann machines. Glorot et al (2011) argued that ReLU has the following advantages over sigmoid or tanh: ReLU is more similar to biological neurons' responses in their main operating regime. ReLU avoids vanishing gradients. ReLU is cheaper to compute. ReLU creates sparse representation naturally, because many hidden units output exactly zero for a given input. They also found empirically that deep networks trained with ReLU can achieve strong performance without unsupervised pre-training, especially on large, purely supervised tasks. In 2017, the rectified linear function became a central component of the transformer architecture introduced in the Vaswani et al paper "Attention Is All You Need". Within every transformer layer, ReLU is utilized in the position-wise feed-forward networks (FFN), defined by Equation 2 of their paper: FFN ⁡ ( x ) = max ( 0 , x W 1 + b 1 ) W 2 + b 2 {\displaystyle \operatorname {FFN} (x)=\max(0,xW_{1}+b_{1})W_{2}+b_{2}} This equation is foundational to the model's capacity; while the attention mechanism determines the relationships between tokens, the ReLU-based FFN performs the majority of the numerical computation and houses the bulk of the model's parameters. The efficiency and scalability of this rectified framework triggered a global technological revolution, enabling the development of Large Language Models that have had a profound economic impact. The industrial response to this architecture—including the massive expansion of AI-specific hardware and the birth of the generative AI sector—has positioned the Transformer as a cornerstone of 21st-century infrastructure. During the post 2017 period of rapid AI advancement, the rectified linear unit function has been key to achieving increased model performance and scaling due to the fact that it zeros out responses that are immaterial for a given stimuli, preventing them from accumulating in massive scale models. It is the complete silencing of the parts of the model found to be stimuli-irrelevant during learning that allows for scaling. As the stimuli-irrelevant proportion of the model becomes more massive, these highly numerous connections within the model would inevitably accumulate during scaling no matter how small each individual response is. Therefore, the rectified linear unit function, with its absolute zeroing property, enabled the scaling to hundred billion parameter models and beyond. Early Transformer scaling giants like GPT-3 (2020) and Falcon-180B (2023) relied on the rectified linear unit function explicitly, while successors such as GPT-4 (2023) and Llama 3 (2024) utilized smoother variants like GELU or SwiGLU. These variants were used to improve training stability while fundamentally preserving the rectified principle of zeroing low responses. At the centre of modern artificial intelligence ReLU and its variants maintain absolute zero response across the bulk of the model at any one time, while maintaining approximately linear reponses for stimuli-relevant connections enabling high performance on each specific cognitive task. This feature of activation sparsity has been critical for massive scaling and performance gains of AI models right up to the present day. == Advantages == Advantages of ReLU include: Sparse activation: for example, in a randomly initialized network, only about 50% of hidden units are activated (i.e. have a non-zero output). Better gradient propagation: fewer vanishing gradient problems compared to sigmoidal activation functions that saturate in both directions. Efficiency: only requires comparison and addition. Scale-invariant (homogeneous, or "intensity equivariance"): max ( 0 , a x ) = a max ( 0 , x ) for a ≥ 0 {\displaystyle \max(0,ax)=a\max(0,x){\text{ for }}a\geq 0} . == Potential problems == Possible downsides can include: Non-differentiability at zero (however, it is differentiable anywhere else, and the value of the derivative at zero can be chosen to be 0 or 1 arbitrarily). Not zero-centered: ReLU outputs are always non-negative. This can make it harder for the network to learn during backpropagation, because gradient updates tend to push weights in one direction (positive or negative). Batch normalization can help address this. ReLU is unbounded. Redundancy of the parametrization: Because ReLU is scale-invariant, the network computes the exact same function by scaling the weights and biases in front of a ReLU activation by k {\displaystyle k} , and the weights after by 1 / k {\displaystyle 1/k} . Dying ReLU: ReLU neurons can sometimes be pushed into states

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  • Kubeflow

    Kubeflow

    Kubeflow is an open-source platform for machine learning and MLOps on Kubernetes introduced by Google. The different stages in a typical machine learning lifecycle are represented with different software components in Kubeflow, including model development (Kubeflow Notebooks), model training (Kubeflow Pipelines, Kubeflow Training Operator), model serving (KServe), and automated machine learning (Katib). Each component of Kubeflow can be deployed separately, and it is not a requirement to deploy every component. == History == The Kubeflow project was first announced at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2017 by Google engineers David Aronchick, Jeremy Lewi, and Vishnu Kannan to address a perceived lack of flexible options for building production-ready machine learning systems. The project has also stated it began as a way for Google to open-source how they ran TensorFlow internally. The first release of Kubeflow (Kubeflow 0.1) was announced at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2018. Kubeflow 1.0 was released in March 2020 via a public blog post announcing that many Kubeflow components were graduating to a "stable status", indicating they were now ready for production usage. In October 2022, Google announced that the Kubeflow project had applied to join the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. In July 2023, the foundation voted to accept Kubeflow as an incubating stage project. == Components == === Kubeflow Notebooks for model development === Machine learning models are developed in the notebooks component called Kubeflow Notebooks. The component runs web-based development environments inside a Kubernetes cluster, with native support for Jupyter Notebook, Visual Studio Code, and RStudio. === Kubeflow Pipelines for model training === Once developed, models are trained in the Kubeflow Pipelines component. The component acts as a platform for building and deploying portable, scalable machine learning workflows based on Docker containers. Google Cloud Platform has adopted the Kubeflow Pipelines DSL within its Vertex AI Pipelines product. === Kubeflow Training Operator for model training === For certain machine learning models and libraries, the Kubeflow Training Operator component provides Kubernetes custom resources support. The component runs distributed or non-distributed TensorFlow, PyTorch, Apache MXNet, XGBoost, and MPI training jobs on Kubernetes. === KServe for model serving === The KServe component (previously named KFServing) provides Kubernetes custom resources for serving machine learning models on arbitrary frameworks including TensorFlow, XGBoost, scikit-learn, PyTorch, and ONNX. KServe was developed collaboratively by Google, IBM, Bloomberg, NVIDIA, and Seldon. Publicly disclosed adopters of KServe include Bloomberg, Gojek, the Wikimedia Foundation, and others. === Katib for automated machine learning === Lastly, Kubeflow includes a component for automated training and development of machine learning models, the Katib component. It is described as a Kubernetes-native project and features hyperparameter tuning, early stopping, and neural architecture search. == Release timeline ==

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  • Eaze

    Eaze

    Eaze is an American company based in San Francisco, California that launched a medical cannabis delivery app of the same name in 2014. == History == Eaze was launched in 2014 by Keith McCarty to deliver medical marijuana to patients in California. McCarty started the company in his San Francisco apartment with four employees. The company provides a mobile app to connect users with cannabis dispensaries, but does not grow or sell marijuana itself, and has been nicknamed “the Uber of Weed”. As of 2017, the company operates in more than 100 cities within California. In 2017, Eaze reported 300 percent growth over the previous year. It has 81 employees, and performs 120,000 deliveries per month to 250,000 users. A survey of Eaze users revealed that 66% are male, 57% are between 22 and 34, just over half have a bachelor's degree, and 49% have an annual income over $75,000. The company's vaporizer cartridge sales reached $1 million in sales in 4 months, and 31% of customers had ordered a vaporizer by the end of 2016. In 2016, Eaze founder Keith McCarty stepped down from his position as CEO and was replaced by Jim Patterson, who served as the company's chief product and technology officer. == EazeMD == EazeMD is a service that helps people acquire a medical marijuana card. It is a California-based telemedicine service in which physicians assess patients through an online video chat. It is California's largest telemedicine service for marijuana referrals. In June 2017, a former employee of one of these physicians accessed patient data in the physician's records system, causing a security breach. However, there was no evidence that Eaze data was accessed. == Eaze Insights == Eaze Insights conducts surveys of their users and compiles data into reports on cannabis use. Statistics from their reports have been cited in Seattle Weekly, Forbes, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Fortune, and other general interest publications. == Financing == The company announced its $10 million Series A funding in April 2015 by multiple venture capital firms, including the Snoop Dogg-backed Casa Verde Capital. In October 2016, Eaze announced its series B funding in the amount of $13 million from five investors, making the company "the highest-funded startup in the history of the cannabis industry, as well as its fastest-growing one". In September 2017, the company raised another $27 million in venture funding. The Series B funding was led by Bailey Capital, joined by DCM Ventures, Kaya Ventures, and FJ Labs. According to the company' officials in 2017, Eaze managed to raise more than $52 million since its inception in 2014.

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  • Probit model

    Probit model

    In statistics, a probit model is a type of regression where the dependent variable can take only two values, for example married or not married. The word is a portmanteau, coming from probability + unit. The purpose of the model is to estimate the probability that an observation with particular characteristics will fall into a specific one of the categories; moreover, classifying observations based on their predicted probabilities is a type of binary classification model. A probit model is a popular specification for a binary response model. As such it treats the same set of problems as does logistic regression using similar techniques. When viewed in the generalized linear model framework, the probit model employs a probit link function. It is most often estimated using the maximum likelihood procedure, such an estimation being called a probit regression. == Conceptual framework == Suppose a response variable Y is binary, that is it can have only two possible outcomes which we will denote as 1 and 0. For example, Y may represent presence/absence of a certain condition, success/failure of some device, answer yes/no on a survey, etc. We also have a vector of regressors X, which are assumed to influence the outcome Y. Specifically, we assume that the model takes the form P ( Y = 1 ∣ X ) = Φ ( X T β ) , {\displaystyle P(Y=1\mid X)=\Phi (X^{\operatorname {T} }\beta ),} where P is the probability and Φ {\displaystyle \Phi } is the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the standard normal distribution. The parameters β are typically estimated by maximum likelihood. It is possible to motivate the probit model as a latent variable model. Suppose there exists an auxiliary random variable Y ∗ = X T β + ε , {\displaystyle Y^{\ast }=X^{T}\beta +\varepsilon ,} where ε ~ N(0, 1). Then Y can be viewed as an indicator for whether this latent variable is positive: Y = { 1 Y ∗ > 0 0 otherwise } = { 1 X T β + ε > 0 0 otherwise } {\displaystyle Y=\left.{\begin{cases}1&Y^{}>0\\0&{\text{otherwise}}\end{cases}}\right\}=\left.{\begin{cases}1&X^{\operatorname {T} }\beta +\varepsilon >0\\0&{\text{otherwise}}\end{cases}}\right\}} The use of the standard normal distribution causes no loss of generality compared with the use of a normal distribution with an arbitrary mean and standard deviation, because adding a fixed amount to the mean can be compensated by subtracting the same amount from the intercept, and multiplying the standard deviation by a fixed amount can be compensated by multiplying the weights by the same amount. To see that the two models are equivalent, note that P ( Y = 1 ∣ X ) = P ( Y ∗ > 0 ) = P ( X T β + ε > 0 ) = P ( ε > − X T β ) = P ( ε < X T β ) by symmetry of the normal distribution = Φ ( X T β ) {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}P(Y=1\mid X)&=P(Y^{\ast }>0)\\&=P(X^{\operatorname {T} }\beta +\varepsilon >0)\\&=P(\varepsilon >-X^{\operatorname {T} }\beta )\\&=P(\varepsilon 0 {\displaystyle t,\lim _{n\rightarrow \infty }n_{t}/n=c_{t}>0} . Denote p ^ t = r t / n t {\displaystyle {\hat {p}}_{t}=r_{t}/n_{t}} σ ^ t 2 = 1 n t p ^ t ( 1 − p ^ t ) φ 2 ( Φ − 1 ( p ^ t ) ) {\displaystyle {\hat {\sigma }}_{t}^{2}={\frac {1}{n_{t}}}{\frac {{\hat {p}}_{t}(1-{\hat {p}}_{t})}{\varphi ^{2}{\big (}\Phi ^{-1}({\hat {p}}_{t}){\big )}}}} Then Berkson's minimum chi-square estimator is a generalized least squares estimator in a regression of Φ − 1 ( p ^ t ) {\displaystyle \Phi ^{-1}({\hat {p}}_{t})} on x ( t ) {\displaystyle x_{(t)}} with weights σ ^ t − 2 {\displaystyle {\hat {\sigma }}_{t}^{-2}} : β ^ = ( ∑ t = 1 T σ ^ t − 2 x ( t ) x ( t ) T ) − 1 ∑ t = 1 T σ ^ t − 2 x ( t ) Φ − 1 ( p ^ t ) {\displaystyle {\hat {\beta }}={\Bigg (}\sum _{t=1}^{T}{\hat {\sigma }}_{t}^{-2}x_{(t)}x_{(t)}^{\operatorname {T} }{\Bigg )}^{-1}\sum _{t=1}^{T}{\hat {\sigma }}_{t}^{-2}x_{(t)}\Phi ^{-1}({\hat {p}}_{t})} It can be shown that this estimator is consistent (as n→∞ and T fixed), asymptotically normal and efficient. Its advantage is the presence of a closed-form formula for the estimator. However, it is only meaningful to carry out this analysis when individual observations are not available, only their aggregated counts r t {\displaystyle r_{t}} , n t {\disp

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  • Reservoir computing

    Reservoir computing

    Reservoir computing is a framework for computation derived from recurrent neural network theory that maps input signals into higher dimensional computational spaces through the dynamics of a fixed, non-linear system called a reservoir. After the input signal is fed into the reservoir, which is treated as a "black box," a simple readout mechanism is trained to read the state of the reservoir and map it to the desired output. The first key benefit of this framework is that training is performed only at the readout stage, as the reservoir dynamics are fixed. The second is that the computational power of naturally available systems, both classical and quantum mechanical, can be used to reduce the effective computational cost. == History == The first examples of reservoir neural networks demonstrated that randomly connected recurrent neural networks could be used for sensorimotor sequence learning, and simple forms of interval and speech discrimination. In these early models the memory in the network took the form of both short-term synaptic plasticity and activity mediated by recurrent connections. In other early reservoir neural network models the memory of the recent stimulus history was provided solely by the recurrent activity. Overall, the general concept of reservoir computing stems from the use of recursive connections within neural networks to create a complex dynamical system. It is a generalisation of earlier neural network architectures such as recurrent neural networks, liquid-state machines and echo-state networks. Reservoir computing also extends to physical systems that are not networks in the classical sense, but rather continuous systems in space and/or time: e.g. a literal "bucket of water" can serve as a reservoir that performs computations on inputs given as perturbations of the surface. The resultant complexity of such recurrent neural networks was found to be useful in solving a variety of problems including language processing and dynamic system modeling. However, training of recurrent neural networks is challenging and computationally expensive. Reservoir computing reduces those training-related challenges by fixing the dynamics of the reservoir and only training the linear output layer. A large variety of nonlinear dynamical systems can serve as a reservoir that performs computations. In recent years semiconductor lasers have attracted considerable interest as computation can be fast and energy efficient compared to electrical components. Recent advances in both AI and quantum information theory have given rise to the concept of quantum neural networks. These hold promise in quantum information processing, which is challenging to classical networks, but can also find application in solving classical problems. In 2018, a physical realization of a quantum reservoir computing architecture was demonstrated in the form of nuclear spins within a molecular solid. However, the nuclear spin experiments in did not demonstrate quantum reservoir computing per se as they did not involve processing of sequential data. Rather the data were vector inputs, which makes this more accurately a demonstration of quantum implementation of a random kitchen sink algorithm (also going by the name of extreme learning machines in some communities). In 2019, another possible implementation of quantum reservoir processors was proposed in the form of two-dimensional fermionic lattices. In 2020, realization of reservoir computing on gate-based quantum computers was proposed and demonstrated on cloud-based IBM superconducting near-term quantum computers. Reservoir computers have been used for time-series analysis purposes. In particular, some of their usages involve chaotic time-series prediction, separation of chaotic signals, and link inference of networks from their dynamics. == Classical reservoir computing == === Reservoir === The 'reservoir' in reservoir computing is the internal structure of the computer, and must have two properties: it must be made up of individual, non-linear units, and it must be capable of storing information. The non-linearity describes the response of each unit to input, which is what allows reservoir computers to solve complex problems. Reservoirs are able to store information by connecting the units in recurrent loops, where the previous input affects the next response. The change in reaction due to the past allows the computers to be trained to complete specific tasks. Reservoirs can be virtual or physical. Virtual reservoirs are typically randomly generated and are designed like neural networks. Virtual reservoirs can be designed to have non-linearity and recurrent loops, but, unlike neural networks, the connections between units are randomized and remain unchanged throughout computation. Physical reservoirs are possible because of the inherent non-linearity of certain natural systems. The interaction between ripples on the surface of water contains the nonlinear dynamics required in reservoir creation, and a pattern recognition RC was developed by first inputting ripples with electric motors then recording and analyzing the ripples in the readout. === Readout === The readout is a neural network layer that performs a linear transformation on the output of the reservoir. The weights of the readout layer are trained by analyzing the spatiotemporal patterns of the reservoir after excitation by known inputs, and by utilizing a training method such as a linear regression or a Ridge regression. As its implementation depends on spatiotemporal reservoir patterns, the details of readout methods are tailored to each type of reservoir. For example, the readout for a reservoir computer using a container of liquid as its reservoir might entail observing spatiotemporal patterns on the surface of the liquid. === Types === ==== Context reverberation network ==== An early example of reservoir computing was the context reverberation network. In this architecture, an input layer feeds into a high dimensional dynamical system which is read out by a trainable single-layer perceptron. Two kinds of dynamical system were described: a recurrent neural network with fixed random weights, and a continuous reaction–diffusion system inspired by Alan Turing's model of morphogenesis. At the trainable layer, the perceptron associates current inputs with the signals that reverberate in the dynamical system; the latter were said to provide a dynamic "context" for the inputs. In the language of later work, the reaction–diffusion system served as the reservoir. ==== Echo state network ==== The tree echo state network (TreeESN) model represents a generalization of the reservoir computing framework to tree structured data. ==== Liquid-state machine ==== Chaotic liquid state machine The liquid (i.e. reservoir) of a chaotic liquid state machine (CLSM), or chaotic reservoir, is made from chaotic spiking neurons but which stabilize their activity by settling to a single hypothesis that describes the trained inputs of the machine. This is in contrast to general types of reservoirs that don't stabilize. The liquid stabilization occurs via synaptic plasticity and chaos control that govern neural connections inside the liquid. CLSM showed promising results in learning sensitive time series data. ==== Nonlinear transient computation ==== This type of information processing is most relevant when time-dependent input signals depart from the mechanism's internal dynamics. These departures cause transients or temporary altercations which are represented in the device's output. ==== Deep reservoir computing ==== The extension of the reservoir computing framework towards deep learning, with the introduction of deep reservoir computing and of the deep echo state network (DeepESN) model allows to develop efficiently trained models for hierarchical processing of temporal data, at the same time enabling the investigation on the inherent role of layered composition in recurrent neural networks. == Quantum reservoir computing == Quantum reservoir computing may use the nonlinear nature of quantum mechanical interactions or processes to form the characteristic nonlinear reservoirs but may also be done with linear reservoirs when the injection of the input to the reservoir creates the nonlinearity. The marriage of machine learning and quantum devices is leading to the emergence of quantum neuromorphic computing as a new research area. === Types === ==== Gaussian states of interacting quantum harmonic oscillators ==== Gaussian states are a paradigmatic class of states of continuous variable quantum systems. Although they can nowadays be created and manipulated in, e.g, state-of-the-art optical platforms, naturally robust to decoherence, it is well-known that they are not sufficient for, e.g., universal quantum computing because transformations that preserve the Gaussian nature of a state are linear. Normally, linear dynamics would not be sufficient for nontrivial reser

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