Model-Based Reinforcement Learning (RL) is widely believed to have the potential to improve sample efficiency by allowing an agent to synthesize large amounts of imagined experience. Experience Replay (ER) can be considered a simple kind of model, which has proved effective at improving the stability and efficiency of deep RL. In principle, a learned parametric model could improve on ER by generalizing from real experience to augment the dataset with additional plausible experience. However, given that learned value functions can also generalize, it is not immediately obvious why model generalization should be better. Here, we provide theoretical and empirical insight into when, and how, we can expect data generated by a learned model to be useful. First, we provide a simple theorem motivating how learning a model as an intermediate step can narrow down the set of possible value functions more than learning a value function directly from data using the Bellman equation. Second, we provide an illustrative example showing empirically how a similar effect occurs in a more concrete setting with neural network function approximation. Finally, we provide extensive experiments showing the benefit of model-based learning for online RL in environments with combinatorial complexity, but factored structure that allows a learned model to generalize. In these experiments, we take care to control for other factors in order to isolate, insofar as possible, the benefit of using experience generated by a learned model relative to ER alone.
Open-World Object Detection (OWOD) extends object detection problem to a realistic and dynamic scenario, where a detection model is required to be capable of detecting both known and unknown objects and incrementally learning newly introduced knowledge. Current OWOD models, such as ORE and OW-DETR, focus on pseudo-labeling regions with high objectness scores as unknowns, whose performance relies heavily on the supervision of known objects. While they can detect the unknowns that exhibit similar features to the known objects, they suffer from a severe label bias problem that they tend to detect all regions (including unknown object regions) that are dissimilar to the known objects as part of the background. To eliminate the label bias, this paper proposes a novel approach that learns an unsupervised discriminative model to recognize true unknown objects from raw pseudo labels generated by unsupervised region proposal methods. The resulting model can be further refined by a classification-free self-training method which iteratively extends pseudo unknown objects to the unlabeled regions. Experimental results show that our method 1) significantly outperforms the prior SOTA in detecting unknown objects while maintaining competitive performance of detecting known object classes on the MS COCO dataset, and 2) achieves better generalization ability on the LVIS and Objects365 datasets.
Multi-modal Large Language Model (MLLM) refers to a model expanded from a Large Language Model (LLM) that possesses the capability to handle and infer multi-modal data. Current MLLMs typically begin by using LLMs to decompose tasks into multiple subtasks, then employing individual pre-trained models to complete specific subtasks, and ultimately utilizing LLMs to integrate the results of each subtasks to obtain the results of the task. In real-world scenarios, when dealing with large projects, it is common practice to break down the project into smaller sub-projects, with different teams providing corresponding solutions or results. The project owner then decides which solution or result to use, ensuring the best possible outcome for each subtask and, consequently, for the entire project. Inspired by this, this study considers selecting multiple pre-trained models to complete the same subtask. By combining the results from multiple pre-trained models, the optimal subtask result is obtained, enhancing the performance of the MLLM. Specifically, this study first selects multiple pre-trained models focused on the same subtask based on distinct evaluation approaches, and then invokes these models in parallel to process input data and generate corresponding subtask results. Finally, the results from multiple pre-trained models for the same subtask are compared using the LLM, and the best result is chosen as the outcome for that subtask. Extensive experiments are conducted in this study using GPT-4 annotated datasets and human-annotated datasets. The results of various evaluation metrics adequately demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in this paper.
The study investigates the effectiveness of utilizing multimodal information in Neural Machine Translation (NMT). While prior research focused on using multimodal data in low-resource scenarios, this study examines how image features impact translation when added to a large-scale, pre-trained unimodal NMT system. Surprisingly, the study finds that images might be redundant in this context. Additionally, the research introduces synthetic noise to assess whether images help the model deal with textual noise. Multimodal models slightly outperform text-only models in noisy settings, even with random images. The study's experiments translate from English to Hindi, Bengali, and Malayalam, outperforming state-of-the-art benchmarks significantly. Interestingly, the effect of visual context varies with source text noise: no visual context works best for non-noisy translations, cropped image features are optimal for low noise, and full image features work better in high-noise scenarios. This sheds light on the role of visual context, especially in noisy settings, opening up a new research direction for Noisy Neural Machine Translation in multimodal setups. The research emphasizes the importance of combining visual and textual information for improved translation in various environments.
Practical uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the real world have demonstrated the importance of embedding moral choices into intelligent agents. They have also highlighted that defining top-down ethical constraints on AI according to any one type of morality is extremely challenging and can pose risks. A bottom-up learning approach may be more appropriate for studying and developing ethical behavior in AI agents. In particular, we believe that an interesting and insightful starting point is the analysis of emergent behavior of Reinforcement Learning (RL) agents that act according to a predefined set of moral rewards in social dilemmas. In this work, we present a systematic analysis of the choices made by intrinsically-motivated RL agents whose rewards are based on moral theories. We aim to design reward structures that are simplified yet representative of a set of key ethical systems. Therefore, we first define moral reward functions that distinguish between consequence- and norm-based agents, between morality based on societal norms or internal virtues, and between single- and mixed-virtue (e.g., multi-objective) methodologies. Then, we evaluate our approach by modeling repeated dyadic interactions between learning moral agents in three iterated social dilemma games (Prisoner's Dilemma, Volunteer's Dilemma and Stag Hunt). We analyze the impact of different types of morality on the emergence of cooperation, defection or exploitation, and the corresponding social outcomes. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for the development of moral agents in artificial and mixed human-AI societies.
Winner Take All (WTA) circuits a type of Spiking Neural Networks (SNN) have been suggested as facilitating the brain's ability to process information in a Bayesian manner. Research has shown that WTA circuits are capable of approximating hierarchical Bayesian models via Expectation Maximization (EM). So far, research in this direction has focused on bottom up processes. This is contrary to neuroscientific evidence that shows that, besides bottom up processes, top down processes too play a key role in information processing by the human brain. Several functions ascribed to top down processes include direction of attention, adjusting for expectations, facilitation of encoding and recall of learned information, and imagery. This paper explores whether WTA circuits are suitable for further integrating information represented in separate WTA networks. Furthermore, it explores whether, and under what circumstances, top down processes can improve WTA network performance with respect to inference and learning. The results show that WTA circuits are capable of integrating the probabilistic information represented by other WTA networks, and that top down processes can improve a WTA network's inference and learning performance. Notably, it is able to do this according to key neuromorphic principles, making it ideal for low-latency and energy efficient implementation on neuromorphic hardware.
Large Language Models (LLMs), such as GPT and BERT, have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in addressing neural language process tasks. Recently, the release of ChatGPT has garnered significant attention due to its ability to analyze, comprehend, and synthesize information from user inputs. Therefore, these LLMs were adopted by researchers in many different domains. In the realm of code analysis, researchers have applied LLMs to tasks like code review and code generation. However, we observed that the strengths and limitations of adopting these LLMs to the code analysis have not been investigated. In this paper, we delve into LLMs' capabilities in security-oriented program analysis, considering perspectives from both attackers and security analysts. We focus on two representative LLMs, ChatGPT and CodeBert, and evaluate their performance in solving typical analytic tasks with varying levels of difficulty. Given the different natures of ChatGPT and CodeBERT, we conduct a qualitative analysis of the model's output for ChatGPT and a quantitative analysis for CodeBERT, respectively. For ChatGPT, we present a case study involving several security-oriented program analysis tasks while deliberately introducing challenges to assess its responses. On the other hand, for CodeBERT, we systematically analyze and classify the features in code, quantitatively evaluating the impact of these features on the model's performance. Our study demonstrates the LLM's efficiency in learning high-level semantics from code, positioning ChatGPT as a potential asset in security-oriented contexts. However, it is essential to acknowledge certain limitations, such as the heavy reliance on well-defined variable and function names, making them unable to learn from anonymized code. We hope that our findings and analysis will offer valuable insights for future researchers in this domain.
Large Language Models (LLMs) have shown excellent generalization capabilities that have led to the development of numerous models. These models propose various new architectures, tweaking existing architectures with refined training strategies, increasing context length, using high-quality training data, and increasing training time to outperform baselines. Analyzing new developments is crucial for identifying changes that enhance training stability and improve generalization in LLMs. This survey paper comprehensively analyses the LLMs architectures and their categorization, training strategies, training datasets, and performance evaluations and discusses future research directions. Moreover, the paper also discusses the basic building blocks and concepts behind LLMs, followed by a complete overview of LLMs, including their important features and functions. Finally, the paper summarizes significant findings from LLM research and consolidates essential architectural and training strategies for developing advanced LLMs. Given the continuous advancements in LLMs, we intend to regularly update this paper by incorporating new sections and featuring the latest LLM models.
In pace with developments in the research field of artificial intelligence, knowledge graphs (KGs) have attracted a surge of interest from both academia and industry. As a representation of semantic relations between entities, KGs have proven to be particularly relevant for natural language processing (NLP), experiencing a rapid spread and wide adoption within recent years. Given the increasing amount of research work in this area, several KG-related approaches have been surveyed in the NLP research community. However, a comprehensive study that categorizes established topics and reviews the maturity of individual research streams remains absent to this day. Contributing to closing this gap, we systematically analyzed 507 papers from the literature on KGs in NLP. Our survey encompasses a multifaceted review of tasks, research types, and contributions. As a result, we present a structured overview of the research landscape, provide a taxonomy of tasks, summarize our findings, and highlight directions for future work.
When is heterogeneity in the composition of an autonomous robotic team beneficial and when is it detrimental? We investigate and answer this question in the context of a minimally viable model that examines the role of heterogeneous speeds in perimeter defense problems, where defenders share a total allocated speed budget. We consider two distinct problem settings and develop strategies based on dynamic programming and on local interaction rules. We present a theoretical analysis of both approaches and our results are extensively validated using simulations. Interestingly, our results demonstrate that the viability of heterogeneous teams depends on the amount of information available to the defenders. Moreover, our results suggest a universality property: across a wide range of problem parameters the optimal ratio of the speeds of the defenders remains nearly constant.
Recently, Mutual Information (MI) has attracted attention in bounding the generalization error of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). However, it is intractable to accurately estimate the MI in DNNs, thus most previous works have to relax the MI bound, which in turn weakens the information theoretic explanation for generalization. To address the limitation, this paper introduces a probabilistic representation of DNNs for accurately estimating the MI. Leveraging the proposed MI estimator, we validate the information theoretic explanation for generalization, and derive a tighter generalization bound than the state-of-the-art relaxations.