Fewer epistemological challenges for connectionism

Seventeen years ago, John McCarthy wrote the note Epistemological challenges for connectionism as a response to Paul Smolensky’s paper 'On the proper treatment of connectionism'. I will discuss the extent to which the four key challenges put forward by McCarthy have been solved, and what are the new challenges ahead. I argue that there are fewer epistemological challenges for connectionism, but progress has been slow. Nevertheless, there is now strong indication that neural-symbolic integration can provide effective systems of expressive reasoning and robust learning due to the recent developments in the field

Connectionist modal logic: Representing modalities in neural networks

AbstractModal logics are amongst the most successful applied logical systems. Neural networks were proved to be effective learning systems. In this paper, we propose to combine the strengths of modal logics and neural networks by introducing Connectionist Modal Logics (CML). CML belongs to the domain of neural-symbolic integration, which concerns the application of problem-specific symbolic knowledge within the neurocomputing paradigm. In CML, one may represent, reason or learn modal logics using a neural network. This is achieved by a Modalities Algorithm that translates modal logic programs into neural network ensembles. We show that the translation is sound, i.e. the network ensemble computes a fixed-point meaning of the original modal program, acting as a distributed computational model for modal logic. We also show that the fixed-point computation terminates whenever the modal program is well-behaved. Finally, we validate CML as a computational model for integrated knowledge representation and learning by applying it to a well-known testbed for distributed knowledge representation. This paves the way for a range of applications on integrated knowledge representation and learning, from practical reasoning to evolving multi-agent systems

Argument-based agreements in agent societies

In this paper, we present an abstract argumentation framework for the support of agreement processes in agent societies. It takes into account arguments, attacks among them, and the social context of the agents that put forward arguments. Then, we de¿ne the semantics of the framework, providing a mechanism to evaluate arguments in view of other arguments posed in the argumentation process. We also provide a translation of the framework into a neural network that computes the set of acceptable arguments and can be tuned to give more or less importance to argument attacks. Finally, the framework is illustrated with an example in a real domain of a water-rights transfer market. & 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reservedThis work is supported by the Spanish government Grants CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 CSD2007-00022, TIN2008-04446 and TIN2009-13839-C03-01 and by the GVA project PROMETEO 2008/051.Heras Barberá, SM.; Botti Navarro, VJ.; Julian Inglada, VJ. (2012). Argument-based agreements in agent societies. Neurocomputing. 75(1):156-162. doi:10.1016/j.neucom.2011.02.022S15616275

Los realia del dominio de la música en un texto misionero y en su versión traducida al español

In this work we will present our project of master’s thesis, whose title is The designation of realia in the domain of music in the Brevis Descriptio… by Francisco Javier Eder (1772) and the Spanish translation by Josep Barnadas (1985). Eder’s work could be considered an ethnographic description of the Baure, native people in Moxos to whom he preached. Our interest in this work focuses on the translation into Spanish of the missionary’s comments about music –dances, musical instruments, musicians, among others-. The selection is made due to methodological needs and the relevance of the work itself, as a source for investigation of the Jesuit Moxos. The project’s hypothesis states that the translation of realia in the domain of music in Brevis Descriptio of F. J. Eder is appropriate to the skopos expressed by the translator. In previous investigations, we have dealt with the skopos that Josep Barnadas raises in the translation’s preliminary study. The translation techniques and the designation procedures used by the missionary constitute the main part of our research work. Regarding methodological aspects, we will start the research by making records for realia of the domain of music. These records should contain, on the one hand, data about the form of designation (be it latinized words from several languages, or more or less long and diverse descriptions). On the other hand, they should contain information about the objects themselves. Further on, contrastive analysis of the Latin text and of its translation will allow us to make comparisons in the grammatical and textual level, and then connect them with the skopos expressed by the translator. We use the concept of «designation procedure» («procedimiento de designación») by María Isabel Presa Terrón (2003, 2008), who coined the term by researching on the chroniclers of the Indies that write into Spanish. Regarding Latin, the issue has been studied by Geneviève Demerson (2005), whose contributions we will also use. On a local level, some researchers –for example Nora Andrade (1997), Josefina Nagore (1998-1999) and Carlos Castilla (2010) – studied similar topics in Pedro Mártir de Anglería. In the beginning stages of the research, the project presents a challenge: the development of a type of record in which the diversity of realia and the designation procedures could fit.En este trabajo presentaremos nuestro proyecto de trabajo final de maestría titulado La designación de realia en el dominio de la música en la Brevis Descriptio… de Francisco Javier Eder (1772) y la traducción de Josep Barnadas (1985). La obra de Eder podría clasificarse como una descripción etnográfica de los baure, pueblo de Mojos en el que predicaba. Nuestro interés por ella se centra en la traducción al español de los comentarios del misionero sobre la música —danzas, instrumentos musicales, músicos, entre otros—. El recorte obedece a necesidades metodológicas y a la relevancia que la obra presenta como fuente para investigar sobre la música del Mojos jesuítico. La hipótesis del proyecto es que la traducción de los realia del dominio de la música presentes en la Brevis Descriptio de F. J. Eder resulta adecuada al skopos explicitado por el traductor. En investigaciones previas hemos tratado acerca del skopos que Josep Barnadas plantea en el estudio preliminar a la traducción. En este trabajo son las técnicas de traducción y, antes, los procedimientos de designación utilizados por el misionero los que constituyen el objeto de nuestro trabajo de investigación. En lo metodológico la investigación se inicia con el armado de fichas para los realia del dominio de la música. En ellas consignaremos, por un lado, datos relativos al significante del objeto designado (o bien palabras latinizadas desde diversos idiomas, o bien descripciones de extensión y contenido variable) y, por otro, información sobre los objetos designados por el misionero. En una segunda etapa, el análisis contrastivo del texto latino y de su traducción permitirá establecer comparaciones en el plano gramatical y en el textual para, finalmente, vincularlos con el skopos manifestado por el traductor. Tomamos el concepto de «procedimiento de designación» de María Isabel Presa Terrón (2003, 2008), quien acuñó el término investigando sobre los cronistas de Indias que escribían en castellano; para el latín, la cuestión ha sido estudiada por Geneviève Demerson (2005), cuyos conceptos también utilizamos. En el ámbito local, algunos investigadores como Nora Andrade (1997), Josefina Nagore (1998-1999) y Carlos Castilla (2010) estudiaron temas similares en Pedro Mártir de Anglería. En los inicios de la investigación, el proyecto presenta como desafío la elaboración de un tipo de ficha en el que quepan la diversidad de realia y procedimientos de designación

Accountability in AI: From principles to industry-specific accreditation

Recent AI-related scandals have shed a spotlight on accountability in AI, with increasing public interest and concern. This paper draws on literature from public policy and governance to make two contributions. First, we propose an AI accountability ecosystem as a useful lens on the system, with different stakeholders requiring and contributing to specific accountability mechanisms. We argue that the present ecosystem is unbalanced, with a need for improved transparency via AI explainability and adequate documentation and process formalisation to support internal audit, leading up eventually to external accreditation processes. Second, we use a case study in the gambling sector to illustrate in a subset of the overall ecosystem the need for industry-specific accountability principles and processes. We define and evaluate critically the implementation of key accountability principles in the gambling industry, namely addressing algorithmic bias and model explainability, before concluding and discussing directions for future work based on our findings

Graph-based Neural Modules to Inspect Attention-based Architectures: A Position Paper

Encoder-decoder architectures are prominent building blocks of state-of-the-art solutions for tasks across multiple fields where deep learning (DL) or foundation models play a key role. Although there is a growing community working on the provision of interpretation for DL models as well as considerable work in the neuro-symbolic community seeking to integrate symbolic representations and DL, many open questions remain around the need for better tools for visualization of the inner workings of DL architectures. In particular, encoder-decoder models offer an exciting opportunity for visualization and editing by humans of the knowledge implicitly represented in model weights. In this work, we explore ways to create an abstraction for segments of the network as a two-way graph-based representation. Changes to this graph structure should be reflected directly in the underlying tensor representations. Such two-way graph representation enables new neuro-symbolic systems by leveraging the pattern recognition capabilities of the encoder-decoder along with symbolic reasoning carried out on the graphs. The approach is expected to produce new ways of interacting with DL models but also to improve performance as a result of the combination of learning and reasoning capabilities

MECANISMOS MOLECULARES NO HIRSUTISMO: EXPRESSÃO GÊNICA DE ENZIMAS DO METABOLISMO ANDROGÊNICO NO FOLÍCULO PILOSO E ASSOCIAÇÃO COM O DIAGNÓSTICO ETIOLÓGICO

Androgens are the main hormonal regulators of human hair growth and they are related to clinical conditions such as hirsutism. The aim of this study was to analyze the gene expression of androgen receptor (AR), type 1 and type 2 5a-reductase isoenzymes (5a R1 and 2) and type 2 17b hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17b-HSD 2) in plucked scalp hairs from hirsute patients and normal subjects. We studied 33 women with hirsutism [20 with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), 13 with idiopathic hirsutism (IH)]; 15 control women; and 10 control men. Hirsutism was assessed by a modified Ferriman-Gallwey method. Hormonal status was assessed between days 2 and 10 of the menstrual cycle or on any day when the patients were amenorrheic. AR and enzymes mRNA levels were estimated by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). AR expression was similar in all groups. The gene expression of 5a R2 was not detected in any hair samples analyzed in this study. No differences were found on 5a R1 mRNA levels between men and normal women (0.78 ± 0.05 vs. 0.74 ± 0.06, respectively). 5a R1 gene expression in the plucked hair cells from scalp of normal women (0.85 ± 0.04), PCOS (0.78 ± 0.05) and IH (0.80 ± 0.06) was also similar. 17b-HSD2 gene expression in hirsute patients was lower (2.2±0.13 and 2.0±0.15, for PCOS and IH, respectively) than in normal women (3.1±0.17, p<0.05), and similar to men (1.8±0.22). In conclusion, these results indicate that there are no changes on 5a R1 gene expression in the plucked hair cells from scalp, related to gender or hirsutism. The lower expression of 17b-HSD2 mRNA in scalp hairs of hirsute patients suggests androgen metabolism disturbances with predominance of more potent androgens, as occurs in men.Androgens are the main hormonal regulators of human hair growth and they are related to clinical conditions such as hirsutism. The aim of this study was to analyze the gene expression of androgen receptor (AR), type 1 and type 2 5a-reductase isoenzymes (5a R1 and 2) and type 2 17b hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17b-HSD 2) in plucked scalp hairs from hirsute patients and normal subjects. We studied 33 women with hirsutism [20 with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), 13 with idiopathic hirsutism (IH)]; 15 control women; and 10 control men. Hirsutism was assessed by a modified Ferriman-Gallwey method. Hormonal status was assessed between days 2 and 10 of the menstrual cycle or on any day when the patients were amenorrheic. AR and enzymes mRNA levels were estimated by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). AR expression was similar in all groups. The gene expression of 5a R2 was not detected in any hair samples analyzed in this study. No differences were found on 5a R1 mRNA levels between men and normal women (0.78 ± 0.05 vs. 0.74 ± 0.06, respectively). 5a R1 gene expression in the plucked hair cells from scalp of normal women (0.85 ± 0.04), PCOS (0.78 ± 0.05) and IH (0.80 ± 0.06) was also similar. 17b-HSD2 gene expression in hirsute patients was lower (2.2±0.13 and 2.0±0.15, for PCOS and IH, respectively) than in normal women (3.1±0.17, p<0.05), and similar to men (1.8±0.22). In conclusion, these results indicate that there are no changes on 5a R1 gene expression in the plucked hair cells from scalp, related to gender or hirsutism. The lower expression of 17b-HSD2 mRNA in scalp hairs of hirsute patients suggests androgen metabolism disturbances with predominance of more potent androgens, as occurs in men

Quintais Orgânicos de Frutas: diversificação da matriz produtiva e geração de renda familiar.

Quintais Orgânicos de Frutas é uma iniciativa de transferência de tecnologia desenvolvida pela Embrapa Clima Temperado que leva, a públicos em situação de vulnerabilidade social, econômica e alimentar (agricultores familiares, assentados da reforma agrária, comunidades indígenas, quilombolas, alunos de escolas rurais e instituições assistencialistas), as últimas soluções tecnológicas desenvolvidas e validadas pela Embrapa, buscando a sustentabilidade; as práticas compreendem desde o preparo do solo até o pós-colheita