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Events for March 03, 2020
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PhD Thesis Proposal - Emily Sheng
Tue, Mar 03, 2020 @ 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Towards Fairness in Natural Language Processing
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 3rd, 10-11:30am
Location: SAL 213
Candidate: Emily Sheng
Committee: Prof. Prem Natarajan (advisor), Prof. Nanyun Peng, Prof. Aram Galstyan, Prof. Shri Narayanan, Prof. Yan Liu
Abstract: With the advent of more effective, large-scale natural language processing (NLP) techniques, issues of fairness and bias in NLP techniques have become increasingly important. Biased models have the potential to perpetuate and amplify societal biases, which has implications for ethics, model robustness, and model interpretability. First, we describe our work to define biases in a language generation setting. We subsequently describe how different definitions of bias can be used to analyze biases in existing NLP systems, e.g., language generation and named entity recognition. Finally, we propose techniques that allow us to move towards the mitigation and control of biases. This talk will examine the importance of defining tasks and metrics for biases in NLP, how our bias analyses can inform our approach to bias mitigation, and related directions in how we can move towards fairness in NLP.
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 213
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Lizsl De Leon
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CS Colloquium: Kaiyu Hang (Yale University) - Robotic Manipulation – From Representations to Actions
Tue, Mar 03, 2020 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Kaiyu Hang, Yale University
Talk Title: Robotic Manipulation -“ From Representations to Actions
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Dexterous manipulation is a challenging and integral task involving a number of subproblems to be addressed, such as perception, planning, and control. Problem representation, which is an essential element in a system that defines what is actually the problem to be considered, determines both the capability of a system and the feasibility of applying such a system in real tasks.
In this talk, I will introduce how good representations can convert difficult problems into easier ones. In particular, I first discuss the development of representations for grasp optimization, as well as how a good representation can simplify and unify the whole grasping system, including globally optimal grasp planning, sensing, adaptation, and control. By expanding or varying this representation in terms of problem scenarios, I further show how it can greatly facilitate solving other problems, such as grasp-aware motion planning, optimal placement planning, and even dual-arm manipulation. Second, I will introduce our work on underactuated manipulation using soft robotic hands. For underactuated hands without any joint encoders or tactile sensors, I present our representations that can enable a robot to interact with tabletop objects using nonprehensile manipulation to finally grasp it, and show how to register the object into its own hand-object system once grasped, so as to eventually provide precise and dexterous in-hand manipulation. Finally, I discuss how to develop representations for optimizing robot fingertip designs, especially for simple grippers with limited grasping skills. By installing those optimized fingertip designs onto drones, I further show that those optimized designs can enable the drones to perch or rest at various structures, achieving significant improvement in energy consumption.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium
Biography: Kaiyu Hang is a postdoctoral associate working with Prof. Aaron M. Dollar at the GRAB lab, Yale University. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science, specialized in Robotics and Computer Vision, under the supervision of Prof. Danica Kragic from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. Before joining the GRAB lab, he was a research assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and a Junior Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research interests include representations and optimization for robotic manipulation, motion planning, adaptive grasping and in-hand manipulation, underactuated robotic hands, dual arm manipulation, and mobile manipulation.
Host: Joseph Lim
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CS Distinguished Lecture: Oren Etzioni (Allen Institute for AI) - Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity
Tue, Mar 03, 2020 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Oren Etzioni, Allen Institute for AI
Talk Title: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity
Series: Computer Science Distinguished Lecture Series
Abstract: Could we wake up one morning to find that AI is poised to take over the world? Is AI the technology of unfairness and bias?
My talk will assess these concerns, and sketch a more optimistic view.
We will have ample warning before the emergence of superintelligence, and in the meantime we have the opportunity to create
Beneficial AI:
• AI that mitigates bias rather than amplifying it
• AI that saves lives rather than taking them
• AI that helps us to solve humanity's thorniest problems
My talk builds on work at the Allen Institute for AI, a non-profit research institute based in Seattle.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
Biography: Oren Etzioni launched the Allen Institute for AI, and has served as its CEO since 2014.
He has been a Professor at the University of Washington's Computer Science department since 1991, publishing papers that have garnered over 2,300 highly influential citations on Semantic Scholar.
He is also the founder of several startups including Farecast (acquired by Microsoft in 2008).
Host: Craig Knoblock and Xiang Ren
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Computer Science Department
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.
