325,516 research outputs found
Conformal Prediction with Large Language Models for Multi-Choice Question Answering
As large language models continue to be widely developed, robust uncertainty
quantification techniques will become crucial for their safe deployment in
high-stakes scenarios. In this work, we explore how conformal prediction can be
used to provide uncertainty quantification in language models for the specific
task of multiple-choice question-answering. We find that the uncertainty
estimates from conformal prediction are tightly correlated with prediction
accuracy. This observation can be useful for downstream applications such as
selective classification and filtering out low-quality predictions. We also
investigate the exchangeability assumption required by conformal prediction to
out-of-subject questions, which may be a more realistic scenario for many
practical applications. Our work contributes towards more trustworthy and
reliable usage of large language models in safety-critical situations, where
robust guarantees of error rate are required.Comment: 10 page
Automatic Optimizations for Stream-based Monitoring Languages
Runtime monitors that are specified in a stream-based monitoring language
tend to be easier to understand, maintain, and reuse than those written in a
standard programming language. Because of their formal semantics, such
specification languages are also a natural choice for safety-critical
applications. Unlike for standard programming languages, there is, however, so
far very little support for automatic code optimization. In this paper, we
present the first collection of code transformations for the stream-based
monitoring language RTLola. We show that classic compiler optimizations, such
as Sparse Conditional Constant Propagation and Common Subexpression
Elimination, can be adapted to monitoring specifications. We also develop new
transformations -- Pacing Type Refinement and Filter Refinement -- which
exploit the specific modular structure of RTLola as well as the implementation
freedom afforded by a declarative specification language. We demonstrate the
significant impact of the code transformations on benchmarks from the
monitoring of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).Comment: 20th International Conference on Runtime Verification (2020
CESEC Chair â Training Embedded System Architects for the Critical Systems Domain
Increasing complexity and interactions across scientific and tech- nological domains in the engineering of critical systems calls for new pedagogical approach. In this paper, we introduce the CESEC teaching chair. This chair aims at supporting new integrative ap- proach for the initial training of engineer and master curriculum to three engineering school in Toulouse: ISAE, INSA Toulouse and INP ENSEEIHT. It is supported by the EADS Corporate Foundation. In this paper, we highlight the rationale for this chair: need for sys- tem architect with strong foundations on technical domains appli- cable to the aerospace industry. We then introduce the ideal profile for this architect and the various pedagogical approaches imple- mented to reach this objective
Formalization and Validation of Safety-Critical Requirements
The validation of requirements is a fundamental step in the development
process of safety-critical systems. In safety critical applications such as
aerospace, avionics and railways, the use of formal methods is of paramount
importance both for requirements and for design validation. Nevertheless, while
for the verification of the design, many formal techniques have been conceived
and applied, the research on formal methods for requirements validation is not
yet mature. The main obstacles are that, on the one hand, the correctness of
requirements is not formally defined; on the other hand that the formalization
and the validation of the requirements usually demands a strong involvement of
domain experts. We report on a methodology and a series of techniques that we
developed for the formalization and validation of high-level requirements for
safety-critical applications. The main ingredients are a very expressive formal
language and automatic satisfiability procedures. The language combines
first-order, temporal, and hybrid logic. The satisfiability procedures are
based on model checking and satisfiability modulo theory. We applied this
technology within an industrial project to the validation of railways
requirements
MISRA C, for Security's Sake!
A third of United States new cellular subscriptions in Q1 2016 were for cars.
There are now more than 112 million vehicles connected around the world. The
percentage of new cars shipped with Internet connectivity is expected to rise
from 13% in 2015 to 75% in 2020, and 98% of all vehicles will likely be
connected by 2025. Moreover, the news continuously report about "white hat"
hackers intruding on car software. For these reasons, security concerns in
automotive and other industries have skyrocketed. MISRA C, which is widely
respected as a safety-related coding standard, is equally applicable as a
security-related coding standard. In this presentation, we will show that
security-critical and safety-critical software have the same requirements. We
will then introduce the new documents MISRA C:2012 Amendment 1 (Additional
security guidelines for MISRA C:2012) and MISRA C:2012 Addendum 2 (Coverage of
MISRA C:2012 against ISO/IEC TS 17961:2013 "C Secure Coding Rules"). We will
illustrate the relationship between MISRA C, CERT C and ISO/IEC TS 17961, with
a particular focus on the objective of preventing security vulnerabilities (and
of course safety hazards) as opposed to trying to eradicate them once they have
been inserted in the code.Comment: 4 pages, 2 tables, presented at the "14th Workshop on Automotive
Software & Systems", Milan, November 10, 201
Applying formal methods to standard development: the open distributed processing experience
Since their introduction, formal methods have been applied in various ways to different standards. This paper gives an account of these applications, focusing on one application in particular: the development of a framework for creating standards for Open Distributed Processing (ODP). Following an introduction to ODP, the paper gives an insight into the current work on formalising the architecture of the
Reference Model of ODP (RM-ODP), highlighting the advantages to be gained. The different approaches currently being taken are shown, together with their associated advantages and disadvantages. The paper concludes that there is no one all-purpose approach which can be used
in preference to all others, but that a combination of approaches is desirable to best fulfil the potential of formal methods in developing an architectural semantics for OD
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