From ”Explainable AI” to ”Graspable AI”

Since the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), researchers have asked how intelligent computing systems could interact with and relate to their users and their surroundings, leading to debates around issues of biased AI systems, ML black-box, user trust, user’s perception of control over the system, and system’s transparency, to name a few. All of these issues are related to how humans interact with AI or ML systems, through an interface which uses different interaction modalities. Prior studies address these issues from a variety of perspectives, spanning from understanding and framing the problems through ethics and Science and Technology Studies (STS) perspectives to finding effective technical solutions to the problems. But what is shared among almost all those efforts is an assumption that if systems can explain the how and why of their predictions, people will have a better perception of control and therefore will trust such systems more, and even can correct their shortcomings. This research field has been called Explainable AI (XAI). In this studio, we take stock on prior efforts in this area; however, we focus on using Tangible and Embodied Interaction (TEI) as an interaction modality for understanding ML. We note that the affordances of physical forms and their behaviors potentially can not only contribute to the explainability of ML systems, but also can contribute to an open environment for criticism. This studio seeks to both critique explainable ML terminology and to map the opportunities that TEI can offer to the HCI for designing more sustainable, graspable and just intelligent systems.QC 20210526</p

Kinetic and thermodynamic characterization of single-mismatch discrimination using single-molecule imaging

A single-molecule detection setup based on total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy has been used to investigate association and dissociation kinetics of unlabeled 30mer DNA strands. Single-molecule sensitivity was accomplished by letting unlabeled DNA target strands mediate the binding of DNA-modified and fluorescently labeled liposomes to a DNA-modified surface. The liposomes, acting as signal enhancer elements, enabled the number of binding events as well as the residence time for high affinity binders (Kd < 1 nM, koff < 0.01 s−1) to be collected under equilibrium conditions at low pM concentrations. The mismatch discrimination obtained from the residence time data was shown to be concentration and temperature independent in intervals of 1–100 pM and 23–46°C, respectively. This suggests the method as a robust means for detection of point mutations at low target concentrations in, for example, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis

Tune in to your emotions: a robust personalized affective music player

The emotional power of music is exploited in a personalized affective music player (AMP) that selects music for mood enhancement. A biosignal approach is used to measure listeners’ personal emotional reactions to their own music as input for affective user models. Regression and kernel density estimation are applied to model the physiological changes the music elicits. Using these models, personalized music selections based on an affective goal state can be made. The AMP was validated in real-world trials over the course of several weeks. Results show that our models can cope with noisy situations and handle large inter-individual differences in the music domain. The AMP augments music listening where its techniques enable automated affect guidance. Our approach provides valuable insights for affective computing and user modeling, for which the AMP is a suitable carrier application

Versailles project on advanced materials and standards (VAMAS) interlaboratory study on measuring the number concentration of colloidal gold nanoparticles

We describe the outcome of a large international interlaboratory study of the measurement of particle number concentration of colloidal nanoparticles, project 10 of the technical working area 34, "Nanoparticle Populations" of the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS). A total of 50 laboratories delivered results for the number concentration of 30 nm gold colloidal nanoparticles measured using particle tracking analysis (PTA), single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) light spectroscopy, centrifugal liquid sedimentation (CLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The study provides quantitative data to evaluate the repeatability of these methods and their reproducibility in the measurement of number concentration of model nanoparticle systems following a common measurement protocol. We find that the population-averaging methods of SAXS, CLS and UV-Vis have high measurement repeatability and reproducibility, with between-labs variability of 2.6%, 11% and 1.4% respectively. However, results may be significantly biased for reasons including inaccurate material properties whose values are used to compute the number concentration. Particle-counting method results are less reproducibile than population-averaging methods, with measured between-labs variability of 68% and 46% for PTA and spICP-MS respectively. This study provides the stakeholder community with important comparative data to underpin measurement reproducibility and method validation for number concentration of nanoparticles

Alternative Presents for Dynamic Fabric

In this paper we investigate how a combination of "speculative" design methods can be used to generate theoretical understandings for dynamic, colour-changing fabrics for garments. Specifically, we combine a first-person, autobiographical, research through design (RtD) approach that draws strategies from speculative design. We call this approach alternative presents, inspired by the work of James Auger, and explore it as a way to generate theoretical propositions for dynamic fabric that emphasize the lived experience over technological innovation. The contributions of this framing are twofold. Firstly, we offer a theoretical contribution to the literature on dynamic fabric. Secondly, we make a methodological contribution for how autobiographical design and RtD can be oriented speculatively to generate intermediate knowledge, with particular emphasis on social-technical aspects

Evaluation of APROS as software in containment safety analysis

At Forsmark nuclear power plant the rather old-fashioned software COPTA is used in containment safety analysis. There exists a desire within the organisation to introduce a more modern software with ability to more detailed modeling and increased usability. The goal of this thesis was to evaluate the software APROS in containment safety analysis. APROS models describing one of the containments at Forsmark NPP have been developed. Two simulations of typical containment incidents, one of them a large pipe break, have been made where containment safety parameters such as pressure and temperature are studied. Results are analyzed and verified against results from corresponding COPTA models. The other part of the evaluation includes a listing of detected possibilities and limitations with APROS regarding containment modeling in general. Overall the developed APROS models show a good agreement with results from corresponding COPTA models. Observed differences can in most cases be explained by minor differences in model choices, mostly concerning flow patterns and heat transfer. APROS has many similarities with COPTA regarding the main calculation and modeling methods but APROS can in most cases be seen as the more sophisticated software with more possibilities regarding modeling complexity. The general conclusion is that APROS shows good potential to be used in containment safety analysis

A novel single skeletal muscle cell in vitro motility assay : Effects of aging and non-enzymatic glycosylation on myosin function

The aims of this study were to develop a single skeletal muscle fiber in vitro motility assay, and to employ the assay in order to study the effects of aging and non-enzymatic glycosylation on the mechanical properties of the motor protein myosin in an attempt to improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the aging-related impairment in regulation of muscle function. Myosin was extracted from a millimeter short single muscle fiber segment directly onto a nitrocellulosecoated coverslip for subsequent analyses of the functional properties of the motor protein. Approximately 80% of the myosin heavy chain (MyHC), myosin light chains (MyLCs) and myosin-binding protein C (MyBP-C) was extracted from the cell segment, while no significant extraction of actin and actin-associated proteins was observed. The isolated and immobilized myosin formed a narrow, dense streak on which fluorescent-labeled actin filaments were propelled in a smooth and bi-directional motion, and with small variability in motility speed. Actin filament speed was highly dependent on the MyHC isoform extracted, i.e., a significant difference was observed at 25 deg. C between rat beta/slow (type 1) (1.31 ± 0.23 µm/s, n=11) and IIXB (5.81 ± 0.35 µm/s, n=6), or IIB (6.07 ± 0.33 µm/s, n=8) MyHC isoforms, and between human MyHC isoforms of the type 1 (0.69 ± 0.15 µm/s, n=11), type IIA (2.63 ± 0.34 µm/s, n=7) and IIAX (3.48 ± 0.69 µm/s, n=3). In vitro motility speed showed a high correlation with maximum velocity of unloaded shortening (V0) in slow and fast human single fibers and in rat fibers expressing fast myosin isoforms, indicating that actin filament speed is a good molecular analogue to contractile speed at the fiber level. Motility speed measurements in the 10-350C temperature range were accomplished, and there was a significant difference in the temperature sensitivity between myosin extracted from slow- and fast-twitch fibers. The results from the evaluation of the single fiber in vitro motility assay concludes that this molecular physiological technique offers an exclusive possibility to compare the regulatory influence of various myosin isoforms and thin filament proteins on shortening velocity, at both the cellular and molecular levels. The effects of aging on myosin function were assayed from 82 mouse, rat and human muscle fibers expressing the type I MyHC isoform. The MyLC isoform expression was not affected by aging, in either the rodent or the human fibers. Irrespective of species, an 11-25% aging-related slowing in in vitro motility speed was observed. The 25% decrease in motility speed from 30 months old rats was more than two-fold larger than the 11% slowing observed from myosin of 20-24 months old rats, suggesting an accelerated decline in myosin function with advanced age. In 12 human fibers expressing the IIA MyHC isoform, on the other hand, no difference in motility speed was observed from the young and old myosin. The reduction in type I myosin motility speed indicates that aging-related modifications are taking place in the motor protein, which affects its ability to function optimally. Speeds of actin sliding over myosin extracted from single cells expressing the type I MyHC isoform varied significantly with body size. Motility speed from human myosin was 3-fold slower than from myosin of the ~3400-fold smaller mouse, and approximately 2-fold slower compared with the ~130-fold smaller rat, irrespective of age. The motility speed versus body mass generated a linear and inverse relation when displayed in a double-log plot, suggesting that the observed effects of scaling on actomyosin interactions is related to altered structural and functional properties in the myosin molecule. To explore the effects of glycation as a potential modification underlying the aging-related decline in myosin function, the mechanical properties of the motor protein was tested after incubation with 6 mM glucose for different periods of time. In slow myosin preparations, a reduction by 14 and 17% was observed in actin filament speed after 15- and 20-min incubation respectively, and after 30-min exposure of glucose the motility speed was reduced by 60%. A similar effect on actin gliding speed was observed of myosin isolated from fasttwitch muscle cells. A reversible binding of glucose to the catalytic site of the myosin head is proposed, since addition of hydroxylamine an agent which displaces aldehydes such as glucose from proteins, restored motility speed completely