Algorithmic transparency of conversational agents

A lack of algorithmic transparency is a major barrier to the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies within contexts which require high risk and high consequence decision making. In this paper we present a framework for providing transparency of algorithmic processes. We include important considerations not identified in research to date for the high risk and high consequence context of defence intelligence analysis. To demonstrate the core concepts of our framework we explore an example application (a conversational agent for knowledge exploration) which demonstrates shared human-machine reasoning in a critical decision making scenario. We include new findings from interviews with a small number of analysts and recommendations for future research

Notions of explainability and evaluation approaches for explainable artificial intelligence

Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has experienced a significant growth over the last few years. This is due to the widespread application of machine learning, particularly deep learning, that has led to the development of highly accurate models that lack explainability and interpretability. A plethora of methods to tackle this problem have been proposed, developed and tested, coupled with several studies attempting to define the concept of explainability and its evaluation. This systematic review contributes to the body of knowledge by clustering all the scientific studies via a hierarchical system that classifies theories and notions related to the concept of explainability and the evaluation approaches for XAI methods. The structure of this hierarchy builds on top of an exhaustive analysis of existing taxonomies and peer-reviewed scientific material. Findings suggest that scholars have identified numerous notions and requirements that an explanation should meet in order to be easily understandable by end-users and to provide actionable information that can inform decision making. They have also suggested various approaches to assess to what degree machine-generated explanations meet these demands. Overall, these approaches can be clustered into human-centred evaluations and evaluations with more objective metrics. However, despite the vast body of knowledge developed around the concept of explainability, there is not a general consensus among scholars on how an explanation should be defined, and how its validity and reliability assessed. Eventually, this review concludes by critically discussing these gaps and limitations, and it defines future research directions with explainability as the starting component of any artificial intelligent system

Examining access and cost implications for HIV serodiscordant couples seeking conception services: an integrative approach

The FDA approved pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with Truvada® in 2012 as the first drug to reduce the risk of HIV infection among uninfected individuals (FDA 2012). There is a strong scientific base for its effectiveness among uninfected heterosexual individuals who engage in sexual intercourse with HIV-infected partners. Studies further reveal no significant differences by HIV-infection status in regard to childbearing motivations or future pregnancy motivations (Finocchario-Kessler 2012). Historically, serodiscordant couples comprised of an HIV-positive male and HIV-negative female have faced challenges to accessible, affordable options for safe conception. Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are often prohibitively expensive and also largely inaccessible to this population. The CDC suggests PrEP as another reproductive option for these couples to reduce the risk of sexual HIV acquisition during periconception and pregnancy. Truvada® for PrEP, however, is also costly and may provide only modest additional prevention benefits to serodiscordant couples in which the HIV-infected partner is already on anti-retroviral therapy with suppressed HIV viremia. cART for the infected partner is recommended regardless of conception plans due to proven health benefits for people living with HIV (PLHIV). However, there is also a prevention benefit to the non-infected partner when the HIV-positive partner is on cART, with a relative risk reduction of 96% (Cohen et al. 2011). While Truvada® for PrEP is potentially a more accessible option for these couples compared to assisted reproductive technology services, adoption of PrEP has been slow among providers. In addition to better understanding the impact of PrEP when the male partner is consistently on cART, it is also critical to understand the barriers to prescribing Truvada® for this indication. There is also insufficient information on the ability of HIV-serodiscordant couples to access other reproductive options outside of PrEP. Whether for the purpose of risk reduction or for supported fertility, serodiscordant couples should have access to the same spectrum of reproductive services as non-HIV affected couples. The overall research question this thesis addressed was: What are the access and cost implications for HIV serodiscordant couples seeking conception services in the United States? To address these issues, I used the following methods: (1) a cross-sectional survey of infectious disease, internal medicine, and family medicine providers to determine prescribing behaviors and perceptions of PrEP utilization; results analyzed using multivariable regression modeling; (2) “secret shopper” methodology whereby a physician and “patient” carried out scripted phone calls to fertility clinics to gauge a more realistic picture of access; results analyzed using McNemar tests to assess marginal homogeneity and chi square goodness of fit; and (3) cost effectiveness analysis using a Markov state-transition model to project long-term clinical outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of different HIV prevention strategies for serodiscordant couples seeking conception.2018-12-08T00:00:00

The role of varicocele sclerotherapy in men with severe oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia

The aim of this study was to verify the role of antegrade scrotal sclerotherapy for the treatment of varicoceles in infertile men with severe oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia (OAT). The 59 patients with severe OAT in this study underwent antegrade scrotal sclerotherapy for the treatment of varicoceles. The outcome was assessed in terms of improvement in semen parameters and spontaneous conception rate. Semen parameters and reproductive hormones were evaluated before antegrade sclerotherapy (AS) and 6 months after AS. After an average follow-up time of 34.83.2 months, significant improvement was noted in the mean sperm concentration, motility and morphology in 36 patients (61%). Spontaneous pregnancy occurred in nine couples (15%). Six months after treatment, inhibin B levels were significantly higher (P<0.04), whereas follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were significantly lower (P<0.001) than before treatment. Antegrade internal spermatic vein sclerotherapy can significantly improve seminal parameters and hormonal parameters in men with severe OAT and may even result in spontaneous pregnancy in couples who would otherwise be candidates for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

Robust Non-Coherent Beamforming for FDD Downlink Massive MIMO

Designing beamforming techniques for the downlink (DL) of frequency division duplex (FDD) massive MIMO is known to be a challenging problem due to the difficulty of obtaining channel state information (CSI). Indeed, since the uplink-downlink bands are disjoint, the system cannot rely on channel reciprocity to estimate the channel from uplink (UL) pilots as in time division duplexing (TDD) system. Still, in this paper, we propose original designs for robust beamformers that do not require any feedback from the users and only rely on the transmission of UL pilots. The price to pay is that the beamformer is non-coherent in the sense that it does not leverage full knowledge of the phase of each multipath component. A large variety of novel designs are proposed under different criterion and partial phase knowledge

Holographic entanglement entropy of surface defects

We calculate the holographic entanglement entropy in type IIB supergravity solutions that are dual to half-BPS disorder-type surface defects in ${\cal N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills theory. The entanglement entropy is calculated for a ball-shaped region bisected by a surface defect. Using the bubbling supergravity solutions we also compute the expectation value of the defect operator. Combining our result with the previously-calculated one-point function of the stress tensor in the presence of the defect, we adapt the calculation of Lewkowycz and Maldacena to obtain a second expression for the entanglement entropy. Our two expressions agree up to an additional term, whose possible origin and significance is discussedComment: 41 pages. pdflatex, 3 figures. v2: typos corrected, reference corrected, some comments on CFT interpretation added. v3: references added, some clarification

A Systematic Review on Fostering Appropriate Trust in Human-AI Interaction

Appropriate Trust in Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems has rapidly become an important area of focus for both researchers and practitioners. Various approaches have been used to achieve it, such as confidence scores, explanations, trustworthiness cues, or uncertainty communication. However, a comprehensive understanding of the field is lacking due to the diversity of perspectives arising from various backgrounds that influence it and the lack of a single definition for appropriate trust. To investigate this topic, this paper presents a systematic review to identify current practices in building appropriate trust, different ways to measure it, types of tasks used, and potential challenges associated with it. We also propose a Belief, Intentions, and Actions (BIA) mapping to study commonalities and differences in the concepts related to appropriate trust by (a) describing the existing disagreements on defining appropriate trust, and (b) providing an overview of the concepts and definitions related to appropriate trust in AI from the existing literature. Finally, the challenges identified in studying appropriate trust are discussed, and observations are summarized as current trends, potential gaps, and research opportunities for future work. Overall, the paper provides insights into the complex concept of appropriate trust in human-AI interaction and presents research opportunities to advance our understanding on this topic.Comment: 39 Page