Publications

Towards equilibrium molecular conformation generation with GFlowNets
Cheng-Hao Liu
Santiago Miret
Luca Thiede
Alán Aspuru-Guzik
Sampling diverse, thermodynamically feasible molecular conformations plays a crucial role in predicting properties of a molecule. In this pa… (voir plus)per we propose to use GFlowNet for sampling conformations of small molecules from the Boltzmann distribution, as determined by the molecule's energy. The proposed approach can be used in combination with energy estimation methods of different fidelity and discovers a diverse set of low-energy conformations for highly flexible drug-like molecules. We demonstrate that GFlowNet can reproduce molecular potential energy surfaces by sampling proportionally to the Boltzmann distribution.
Translating phenotypic prediction models from big to small anatomical MRI data using meta-matching
Naren Wulan
Lijun An
Chen Zhang
Ru Kong
Pansheng Chen
Simon B. Eickhoff
Avram J. Holmes
B.T. Thomas Yeo
Individualized phenotypic prediction based on structural MRI is an important goal in neuroscience. Prediction performance increases with lar… (voir plus)ger samples, but small-scale datasets with fewer than 200 participants are often unavoidable. We have previously proposed a “meta-matching” framework to translate models trained from large datasets to improve the prediction of new unseen phenotypes in small collection efforts. Meta-matching exploits correlations between phenotypes, yielding large improvement over classical machine learning when applied to prediction models using resting-state functional connectivity as input features. Here, we adapt the two best performing meta-matching variants (“meta-matching finetune” and “meta-matching stacking”) from our previous study to work with T1-weighted MRI data by changing the base neural network architecture to a 3D convolution neural network. We compare the two meta-matching variants with elastic net and classical transfer learning using the UK Biobank (N = 36,461), Human Connectome Project Young Adults (HCP-YA) dataset (N = 1,017) and HCP-Aging dataset (N = 656). We find that meta-matching outperforms elastic net and classical transfer learning by a large margin, both when translating models within the same dataset, as well as translating models across datasets with different MRI scanners, acquisition protocols and demographics. For example, when translating a UK Biobank model to 100 HCP-YA participants, meta-matching finetune yielded a 136% improvement in variance explained over transfer learning, with an average absolute gain of 2.6% (minimum = −0.9%, maximum = 17.6%) across 35 phenotypes. Overall, our results highlight the versatility of the meta-matching framework.
Tree Broad Learning System for Small Data Modeling.
Heng Xia
Wen Yu
JunFei Qiao
Broad learning system based on neural network (BLS-NN) has poor efficiency for small data modeling with various dimensions. Tree-based BLS (… (voir plus)TBLS) is designed for small data modeling by introducing nondifferentiable modules and an ensemble strategy to the traditional broad learning system (BLS). TBLS replaces the neurons of BLS with the tree modules to map the input data. Moreover, we present three new TBLS variant methods and their incremental learning implementations, which are motivated by deep, broad, and ensemble learning. Their major distinction is reflected in the incremental learning strategies based on: 1) mean square error (mse); 2) pseudo-inverse; and 3) pseudo-inverse theory and stack representation. Therefore, this study further explores the domain of BLS based on the nondifferentiable modules. The simulations are compared with some state-of-the-art (SOTA) BLS-NN and tree methods under high-, medium-, and low-dimensional benchmark datasets. Results show that the proposed method outperforms the BLS-NN, and the modeling accuracy is remarkably improved with the small training data of the proposed TBLS.
Triage Software Update Impact via Release Notes Classification
Solomon Berhe
Vanessa Kan
Omhier Khan
Nathan Pader
Ali Zain Farooqui
Marc Maynard
Two Families of Indexable Partially Observable Restless Bandits and Whittle Index Computation
Using label propagation for learning temporally abstract actions in reinforcement learning
Pierre‐Luc Bacon
Validation of Vigilance Decline Capability in A Simulated Test Environment: A Preliminary Step Towards Neuroadaptive Control
Andra Mahu
Amandeep Singh
Florian Tambon
Benoit Ouellette
Jean-françois Delisle
Tanya Paul
Alexandre Marois
Philippe Doyon-poulin
Vigilance is the ability to sustain attention. It is crucial in tasks like piloting and driving that involve the ability to sustain attentio… (voir plus)n. However, cognitive performance often falters with prolonged tasks, leading to reduced efficiency, slower reactions, and increased error likelihood. Identifying and addressing diminished vigilance is essential for enhancing driving safety. Neuro-physiological indicators have shown promising results to monitor vigilance, paving the way for neuroadaptive control of vigilance. In fact, the collection of vigilance-related physiological markers could allow, using neuroadaptive intelligent systems, a real-time adaption of tasks or the presentation of countermeasures to prevent errors that would ensue from such hypovigilant situations. Before reaching this goal, one must however collect valid data truly representative of hypovigilance which, in turn, can be used to develop prediction models of the vigilant state. This study serves as a proof of concept to assess validity of a testbed to induce and measure vigilance decline through a simulated test environment, validating controlled induction, and evaluating its impact on participants’ performance and subjective experiences. In total, 28 participants (10 females, 18 males) aged 18 to 35 (M = 23.75 years), were recruited. All participants held valid driving licenses and had corrected-to-normal vision. Data collection involved Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) along with neuro-physiological specialized equipment: Enobio 8 EEG, Empatica E4, Polar H10 and Tobii Nano Pro eye tracker. Notably, this study is limited to demonstrating the results of PVT, KSS, and SSS, with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of the test setup. Participants self-reported their loss of vigilance by pressing a marker on the steering wheel. To induce hypovigilance, participants drove an automatic car in a low-traffic, monotonous environment for 60 minutes, featuring empty fields of grass and desert, employing specific in-game procedures. The driving task included instructions for lane-keeping, indicator usage, and maintaining speeds of up to 80 km/h, with no traffic lights or stop signs present. Experiments were conducted before lunch, between 9 am and 12 pm, ensuring maximum participant alertness, with instructions to abstain from caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis on the experiment day. Results showed that the mean reaction time (RT) increased from 257.7 ms before driving to 276.8 ms after driving, t = 4.82, p < .0001, d = -0.61 whereas the median RT changed from 246.07 ms to 260.89 ms, t = 3.58, p = 0.0013, d= -0.53 indicating a statistically significant alteration in participant's psychomotor performance. The mean number of minor lapses in attention (RT >500ms) to the PVT increased from 1.11 before driving to 1.67 after driving, but was not statistically significant t = 1.66, p = 0.11, d = -0.28. KSS showed a considerable rise of sleepiness, with a mean of 4.11 (rather alert) before driving increasing to 5.96 (some signs of sleepiness) after driving, t = 5.65, p < .0001, d = -1.04. Similarly, the SSS demonstrated an increase in mean values from 2.57 (able to concentrate) before driving to 3.96 (somewhat foggy) after driving, t = 8.42, p < .0001, d = -1.20, signifying an increased perception of sleepiness following the driving activity. Lastly, the mean time of the first marker press was 17:38 minutes (SD = 9:47 minutes) indicating that the self-reported loss of vigilance occurred during the first 30 minutes of the driving task. The observed increase in PVT reaction time aligns with the declined alertness reported on both the KSS and SSS responses, suggesting a consistent decline in vigilance and alertness post-driving. In conclusion, the study underscores the effectiveness and validity of the simulated test environment in inducing vigilance decline, providing valuable insights into the impact on both objective and subjective measures. At the same time, the research sets the stage for exploring neuroadaptive control strategies, aiming to enhance task performance and safety. Ultimately, this will contribute to the development of a non-invasive artificial intelligence system capable of detecting vigilance states in extreme/challenging environments, e.g. for pilots and drivers.
Visual theatrical improvisation alongside Artificial Intelligence image generators.
Piotr Mirowski
Boyd Branch
Kory Mathewson
Voices Unheard: NLP Resources and Models for Yor\`ub\'a Regional Dialects
Orevaoghene Ahia
Aremu Anuoluwapo
Diana Abagyan
Hila Gonen
Daud Abolade
Noah A. Smith
Yulia Tsvetkov
When does Self-Prediction help? Understanding Auxiliary Tasks in Reinforcement Learning
Claas Voelcker
Igor Gilitschenski
We investigate the impact of auxiliary learning tasks such as observation reconstruction and latent self-prediction on the representation le… (voir plus)arning problem in reinforcement learning. We also study how they interact with distractions and observation functions in the MDP. We provide a theoretical analysis of the learning dynamics of observation reconstruction, latent self-prediction, and TD learning in the presence of distractions and observation functions under linear model assumptions. With this formalization, we are able to explain why latent-self prediction is a helpful \emph{auxiliary task}, while observation reconstruction can provide more useful features when used in isolation. Our empirical analysis shows that the insights obtained from our learning dynamics framework predicts the behavior of these loss functions beyond the linear model assumption in non-linear neural networks. This reinforces the usefulness of the linear model framework not only for theoretical analysis, but also practical benefit for applied problems.
When Nash Meets Stackelberg
Gabriele Dragotto
Felipe Feijoo
Andrea Lodi
Sriram Sankaranarayanan
Winning the 2023 CityLearn Challenge: A Community-Based Hierarchical Energy Systems Coordination Algorithm
Andoni I. Garmendia
Hélène Le Cadre
. The effective management and control of building energy systems are crucial for reducing the energy consumption peak loads, CO 2 emissions… (voir plus), and ensuring the stability of the power grid, while maintaining optimal comfort levels within buildings. The difficulty to accommodate this trade-off is amplified by dynamic environmental conditions and the need for scalable solutions that can adapt across various building types and geographic locations. Acknowledging the importance of this problem, NeurIPS conference hosted since 2020 the CityLearn control challenge to foster the design of innovative solutions in building energy management. Participants were tasked with developing strategies that not only enhance energy efficiency but also prioritize sustainability and occupant comfort. This paper introduces the Community-based Hierarchical Energy Systems Co-ordination Algorithm ( CHESCA ), the winning approach of the 2023 edition. We rely on a hierarchical approach adaptable to an arbitrary number of buildings, first optimizing building-level metrics individually, and later refining these through a central community-level controller to improve grid-related metrics. Compared to the other high-ranked competitors, our approach demonstrated fast inference capabilities like learning-based methods, while offering a better interpretability and a superior generalization capabilities with minimal data requirements. This paper details our approach, supported by comprehensive experimental results and ablation studies.