81 research outputs found

    Proof in Context -- Web Editing with Rich, Modeless Contextual Feedback

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    The Agora system is a prototypical Wiki for formal mathematics: a web-based system for collaborating on formal mathematics, intended to support informal documentation of formal developments. This system requires a reusable proof editor component, both for collaborative editing of documents, and for embedding in the resulting documents. This paper describes the design of Agora's asynchronous editor, that is generic enough to support different tools working on editor content and providing contextual information, with interactive theorem proverss being a special, but important, case described in detail for the Coq theorem prover.Comment: In Proceedings UITP 2012, arXiv:1307.152

    A Machine-Checked Formalization of the Generic Model and the Random Oracle Model

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    Most approaches to the formal analyses of cryptographic protocols make the perfect cryptography assumption, i.e. the hypothese that there is no way to obtain knowledge about the plaintext pertaining to a ciphertext without knowing the key. Ideally, one would prefer to rely on a weaker hypothesis on the computational cost of gaining information about the plaintext pertaining to a ciphertext without knowing the key. Such a view is permitted by the Generic Model and the Random Oracle Model which provide non-standard computational models in which one may reason about the computational cost of breaking a cryptographic scheme. Using the proof assistant Coq, we provide a machine-checked account of the Generic Model and the Random Oracle Mode

    An Introduction to Mechanized Reasoning

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    Mechanized reasoning uses computers to verify proofs and to help discover new theorems. Computer scientists have applied mechanized reasoning to economic problems but -- to date -- this work has not yet been properly presented in economics journals. We introduce mechanized reasoning to economists in three ways. First, we introduce mechanized reasoning in general, describing both the techniques and their successful applications. Second, we explain how mechanized reasoning has been applied to economic problems, concentrating on the two domains that have attracted the most attention: social choice theory and auction theory. Finally, we present a detailed example of mechanized reasoning in practice by means of a proof of Vickrey's familiar theorem on second-price auctions

    Deductive formal verification of embedded systems

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    We combine static analysis techniques with model-based deductive verification using SMT solvers to provide a framework that, given an analysis aspect of the source code, automatically generates an analyzer capable of inferring information about that aspect. The analyzer is generated by translating the collecting semantics of a program to a formula in first order logic over multiple underlying theories. We import the semantics of the API invocations as first order logic assertions. These assertions constitute the models used by the analyzer. Logical specification of the desired program behavior is incorporated as a first order logic formula. An SMT-LIB solver treats the combined formula as a constraint and solves it. The solved form can be used to identify logical and security errors in embedded programs. We have used this framework to analyze Android applications and MATLAB code. We also report the formal verification of the conformance of the open source Netgear WNR3500L wireless router firmware implementation to the RFC 2131. Formal verification of a software system is essential for its deployment in mission-critical environments. The specifications for the development of routers are provided by RFCs that are only described informally in English. It is prudential to ensure that a router firmware conforms to its corresponding RFC before it can be deployed for managing mission-critical networks. The formal verification process demonstrates the usefulness of inductive types and higher-order logic in software certification

    LFTOP: An LF based approach to domain specific reasoning

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    Specialized vocabulary, notations and inference rules tailored for the description, analysis and reasoning of a domain is very important for the domain. For domain-specific issues researchers focus mainly on the design and implementation of domain-specific languages (DSL) and pay little attention to the reasoning aspects. We believe that domain-specific reasoning is very important to help the proofs of some properties of the domains and should be more concise, more reusable and more believable. It deserves to be investigated in an engineering way. Type theory provides good support for generic reasoning and verification. Many type theorists want to extend uses of type theory to more domains, and believe that the methods, ideas, and technology of type theory can have a beneficial effect for computer assisted reasoning in many domains. Proof assistants based on type theory are well known as effective tools to support reasoning. But these proof assistants have focused primarily on generic notations for representation of problems and are oriented towards helping expert type theorists build proofs efficiently. They are successful in this goal, but they are less suitable for use by non-specialists. In other words, one of the big barriers to limit the use of type theory and proof assistant in domain-specific areas is that it requires significant expertise to use it effectively. We present LFTOP ― a new approach to domain-specific reasoning that is based on a type-theoretic logical framework (LP) but does not require the user to be an expert in type theory. In this approach, users work on a domain-specific interface that is familiar to them. The interface presents a reasoning system of the domain through a user-oriented syntax. A middle layer provides translation between the user syntax and LF, and allows additional support for reasoning (e.g. model checking). Thus, the complexity of the logical framework is hidden but we also retain the benefits of using type theory and its related tools, such as precision and machine-checkable proofs. The approach is being investigated through a number of case studies. In each case study, the relevant domain-specific specification languages and logic are formalized in Plastic. The relevant reasoning system is designed and customized for the users of the corresponding specific domain. The corresponding lemmas are proved in Plastic. We analyze the advantages and shortcomings of this approach, define some new concepts related to the approach, especially discuss issues arising from the translation between the different levels. A prototype implementation is developed. We illustrate the approach through many concrete examples in the prototype implementation. The study of this thesis shows that the approach is feasible and promising, the relevant methods and technologies are useful and effective

    The Nature and Impact of Service Employees’ Innovative Behaviour; a personal-interactive services perspective

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    The amount of research on service innovation rapidly increased since the start of the third millennium, likely due to the continuous diversification of manufacturing companies into the service sector and the decline of manufacturing in the traditional industrial western countries compared to the World’s emerging economies. Service innovation, furthermore, has received significant attention from academics and practitioners alike and has been increasingly perceived as a means of creating competitive advantage. Arguably, this is due to the growing competition between service companies to reach unconventional levels which led to higher customer expectations of continuous improvement of services.This study investigated the nature and impact of service employees’ innovative behaviour leading to initiating innovation within the sub-sector of personal-interactive services, where the hotel sector was investigated respectively. In doing so, the study also critically reviewed the established literature relevant to service innovation and added further insight to previous research underpinning service employees’ role in initiating innovation.A qualitative case-study research strategy, which compared between three cases, was applied to achieve the objectives of the study. The application of qualitative case-study research allowed closer assessment and observation while the researcher was directly present within the service delivery environment. The combining of qualitative research methods, such as semi-structured interviews, focus groups and direct observation, was applied to congregate evidence of employees’ innovative behaviour patterns from multiple perspectives. The expected limitations of the applied research methods are classically associated with qualitative case-study research such as access barriers, high volume of data outcome and also the complications associated with data collection and analysis.The research findings contributed to the general body of knowledge by highlighting the nature and impact of service employees’ innovative behaviour. A novel classification of six innovative behaviour patterns was established under the three main categories of mandatory, quasi-mandatory and voluntary conduct. The research findings further revealed the significant impact of service employees’ innovative behaviour in initiating innovation, where 49 out of 70 innovative ideas were realised as innovations through employees’ innovative behaviour. The research also added further insight by identifying management procedures and motivation as contextual determinants that enable or inhibit service employees’ innovative behaviour

    Provably safe systems: the only path to controllable AGI

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    We describe a path to humanity safely thriving with powerful Artificial General Intelligences (AGIs) by building them to provably satisfy human-specified requirements. We argue that this will soon be technically feasible using advanced AI for formal verification and mechanistic interpretability. We further argue that it is the only path which guarantees safe controlled AGI. We end with a list of challenge problems whose solution would contribute to this positive outcome and invite readers to join in this work.Comment: 17 page
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