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Events for November 06, 2024
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EiS Communications Hub - Tutoring for Engineering Ph.D. StudentsWed, Nov 06, 2024 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Workshops & Infosessions
Come to the EiS Communications Hub for one-on-one tutoring from Viterbi faculty for Ph.D. writing and speaking projects!
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 222A
Audiences: Viterbi Ph.D. Students
Contact: Helen Choi
Event Link: https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/eishub/home
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Shifting the Frame: The Labors of ImageNet and AI Data
Wed, Nov 06, 2024 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Alex Hanna, Director of Research, Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR)
Talk Title: Shifting the Frame: The Labors of ImageNet and AI Data
Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, and LaMDA have led a multi-billion dollar industry in generative AI, and a potentially much larger industry in AI more generally. However, these technologies would not exist were it not for the immense amount of data mined to make them run, low-paid and exploited annotation labor required for labeling and content moderation, and questionable arrangements around consent to use these data. Although datasets used to train and evaluate commercial models are often obscured from view under the shroud of trade secrecy, we can learn a great deal about these systems by interrogating certain publicly available datasets which are considered foundational in academic AI research.
In this talk, I investigate a single dataset, ImageNet. It is not an understatement to say that without ImageNet, we may not have the current wave of deep learning techniques which power nearly all modern AI technologies. I begin from three vantage points: the histories of ImageNet from the perspective of its curators and its linguistic predecessor WordNet, the testimony of the data annotators which labeled millions of ImageNet images, and the data subjects and the creators of the images within ImageNet. Academically, I situate this analysis within a larger theory and practice of infrastructure studies. Practically, I point to a vision for technology which is not based on practices of unrestricted data mining, exploited labor, and the use of images without meaningful consent.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
Biography: Dr. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). A sociologist by training, her work centers on the data used in new computational technologies, and the ways in which these data exacerbate racial, gender, and class inequality. She also works in the area of social movements, focusing on the dynamics of anti-racist campus protest in the US and Canada. She holds a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics and a BA in Sociology from Purdue University, and an MS and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Hanna has published widely in top-tier venues across the social sciences, including the journals Mobilization, American Behavioral Scientist, and Big Data & Society, and top-tier computer science conferences such as CSCW, FAccT, and NeurIPS. Dr. Hanna serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Applied Transgender Studies, and sits on the advisory board for the Human Rights Data Analysis Group and the Scholars Council for the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry.
She is a recipient of the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Forward Award, has been included on FastCompany’s Queer 50 and Go Magazine’s Women We Love lists, and has been featured in the Cal Academy of Sciences New Science exhibit, which highlights queer and trans scientists of color.
With Emily M. Bender, Dr. Hanna runs the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 series, playfully and wickedly tearing apart AI hype for a live audience online on Twitch and on their podcast.
Host: CAIS
More Info: https://cais.usc.edu/events/usc-cais-webinar-with-dr-alex-hanna/
Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Event Link: https://cais.usc.edu/events/usc-cais-webinar-with-dr-alex-hanna/
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AME Seminar
Wed, Nov 06, 2024 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Zachary Manchester, Carnegie Mellon University
Talk Title: Composable Optimization for Robotic Motion Planning and Control
Abstract: Contact interactions are pervasive in key real-world robotic tasks like manipulation and walking. However, the non-smooth dynamics associated with impacts and friction remain challenging to model, and motion planning and control algorithms that can fluently and efficiently reason about contact remain elusive. In this talk, I will share recent work from my research group that takes an “optimization-first” approach to these challenges: collision detection, physics, motion planning, state estimation, and control are all posed as constrained optimization problems. We then build a set of algorithmic and numerical tools that allow us to flexibly compose these optimization sub-problems to solve complex robotics problems involving discontinuous, unplanned, and uncertain contact mechanics.
Biography: Zac Manchester is an Assistant Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. He holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and a B.S. in applied physics from Cornell University. Zac was a postdoc in the Agile Robotics Lab at Harvard University and previously worked at Stanford, NASA Ames Research Center and Analytical Graphics, Inc. He received a NASA Early Career Faculty Award in 2018 and has led four satellite missions. His research interests include motion planning, control, and numerical optimization, particularly with application to robotic locomotion and spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control.
Host: AME Department
More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96060458816?pwd=8LmoG2q6vBCQubqqWpcizd2F1bxqsH.1Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 202
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96060458816?pwd=8LmoG2q6vBCQubqqWpcizd2F1bxqsH.1
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
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Viterbi: TWG Global Info Session – Data & AI Solutions Opportunities
Wed, Nov 06, 2024 @ 05:00 PM - 07:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
This event is for Viterbi Engineering students only, non-Viterbi students will not be admitted. Register on Handshake.
Meet TWG Global Data and AI Solutions Opportunities
Food will be provided!
Hear from Drew Cukor, Program Director of the Data & AI Solutions Group and Jordan King, HR for the Data & AI Solutions Group
What students will get out of the event:
Students will learn about internship and full-time staff opportunities with TWG's Data & AI Solutions Group (a holding company with ~40 portfolio companies including Guggenheim Investments, Guggenheim Securities, Group 1001, Professional Women's Hockey League, and many more!). Internships are paid and located in Santa Monica, CA or New York, NY; housing support is provided. Students will learn about our portfolio companies and how they can have a meaningful impact with actual use cases from day 1. They will also have the opportunity to speak directly to the Program Director and hear his vision for how AI can drive the TWG Global ecosystem into the future.
Degree Levels: Masters, Doctoral
Majors: Computer Science , Data Science, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Systems Architecting & Engineering
Are you able to potentially sponsor or hire on CPT/OPT? Yes!
What will be covered:
We will be covering 5 topics:
Information about TWG Global (we are a holding company with ~40 portfolio companies, including: Carvana, the Dodgers, Guggenheim Investments, the Lakers, and many more!)
The exciting problems the Data & AI Solutions Group is solving.
A use case example to give students an idea of the projects they would work on.
A day in the life of an intern or staff member on TWG's Data & AI Solution Group.
Questions & networking; specifically, an opportunity to speak with the Program Director who has budget and hiring authority for all roles within the group.
IMPORTANT: Event check-in is first come, first serve. If you are signing up for the event, it is the expectation that you attend the event or cancel if you are no longer able to attend.
Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to attend this event may contact Viterbi Career Connections at vcareers@usc.edu">vcareers@usc.edu or (213) 740-9677. It is requested that individuals requiring accommodations or auxiliary aids such as sign language interpreters and alternative format materials notify us at least 7 days prior to the event. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations in an effective and timely manner.Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211
Audiences: Graduate
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
Event Link: https://usc.joinhandshake.com/
