Subject: AIList Digest V5 #64

From: vtcs1::in% <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 87 18:02:03 est

AIList Digest            Thursday, 5 Mar 1987      Volume 5 : Issue 64

Today's Topics:
  Seminars - A Stochastic Genetic Search Method (CMU) &
    Hypothesis Formation (Rutgers) &
    Creative Analogies in Scientific Progress (UPenn) &
    On Visual Formalisms (CMU),
  Conference - Workshop on Coupling Symbolic and Numeric Computing &
    AAAI Workshop on Planning for Autonomous Mobile Robots &
    Computing and Society in Seattle, Preceding AAAI &
    HICSS-21 Call For Papers

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Date: Sun 1 Mar 87 17:49:12-EST
From: Dave Ackley <[email-masked]>
Subject: Seminar - A Stochastic Genetic Search Method (CMU)

                          David H. Ackley
       Carnegie Mellon Computer Science doctoral dissertation defense
                  Tuesday, February 24, 1987 at 1pm
                          Wean Hall 5409

              "Stochastic iterated genetic hillclimbing"

                               Abstract

In the "black box function optimization" problem, a search strategy is
required to find an extremal point of a function without knowing the
structure of the function or the range of possible function values.
Solving such problems efficiently requires two abilities.  On the one
hand, a strategy must be capable of "learning while searching": It must
gather global information about the space and concentrate the search in
the most promising regions.  On the other hand, a strategy must be
capable of "sustained exploration": If a search of the most promising
region does not uncover a satisfactory point, the strategy must redirect
its efforts into other regions of the space.

This dissertation describes a connectionist learning machine that
produces a search strategy called "stochastic iterated genetic
hillclimbing" (SIGH).  Viewed over a short period of time, SIGH displays
a coarse-to-fine searching strategy, like simulated annealing and
genetic algorithms.  However, in SIGH the convergence process is
reversible.  The connectionist implementation makes it possible to
"diverge" the search after it has converged, and to recover
coarse-grained information about the space that was suppressed during
convergence.  The successful optimization of a complex function by SIGH
usually involves a series of such converge/diverge cycles.

SIGH can be viewed as a generalization of a genetic algorithm and a
stochastic hillclimbing algorithm, in which genetic search discovers
starting points for subsequent hillclimbing, and hillclimbing biases the
population for subsequent genetic search.  Several search
strategies---including SIGH, hillclimbers, genetic algorithms, and
simulated annealing---are tested on a set of illustrative functions and
on a series of graph partitioning problems.  SIGH is competitive with
genetic algorithms and simulated annealing in most cases, and markedly
superior in a function where the uphill directions usually lead \away/
from the global maximum.  In that case, SIGH's ability to pass
information from one coarse-to-fine search to the next is crucial.
Combinations of genetic and hillclimbing techniques can offer dramatic
performance improvements over either technique alone.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Mar 87  13:04 EST
From: [email-masked]
Subject: Seminar - Hypothesis Formation (Rutgers)

On Thursday, March 19th at 10:30 AM, Prof. Lindley Darden from the
University of Maryland will speak on her work on hypothesis formation.  The
room will be announced shortly.  An abstract and a summary of her interests
follow.

     "Hypothesis Formation Using Part-Whole Interrelations"

                         Lindley Darden

     This  paper discusses an implementation,  called SUTTON,  of
strategies  for rediscovering the chromosome theory of  heredity.
Walter Sutton formulated the theory in the early 20th century, by
postulating  interrelations  between the fields of  cytology  and
genetics.   Knowledge  from these fields during that  period   is
represented   in  a  frame-based  system,  and  rules  for  using
knowledge  from  one  field  to  guide  hypothesis  formation  in
the other are implemented in LISP.   In particular, the discovery
that the gene is part of the chromosome is simulated, and general
rules for part-whole reasoning are investigated,  including rules
for inheritance and propagation of causal relations in part-whole
hierarchies.

Keywords:  Hypothesis formation, scientific discovery, learning,
identity relation, part-whole relation, causality.

Lindley  Darden  is an Associate Professor in the Departments  of
Philosophy  and History and a member of the graduate  faculty  in
the  Committee  on the History and Philosophy of Science  at  the
University of Maryland,  College Park.   She is currently serving
in  the  second year of a half-time research appointment  in  the
University  of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer  Studies.
This work was done in collaboration with Roy Rada of the National
Library of Medicine.  Her research interests include reasoning in
scientific   discovery   (including  analogical   reasoning   and
formation  of abstract theory types) and knowledge representation
techniques for biological knowledge.   Her address is  Department
of  Philosophy,  University of Maryland,  College Park,  Maryland
20742 and [email-masked].

(In addition, Prof. Darden gave an invited talk at last summer's AAAI
entitled "Viewing History of Science as Compiled Hindsight".)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 87 19:11 EST
From: Tim Finin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Seminar - Creative Analogies in Scientific Progress (UPenn)

                           SPECIAL JOINT COLLOQUIUM
                   Computer Science, Psychology and Physics
                          University of Pennsylvania

    THE ROLE OF CREATIVE ANALOGIES IN SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS: COMPUTER MODELING

            Professor Douglas R. Hofstadter, University of Michigan

                      2:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, 1987
                Tea served at 2:00 in the Faculty Lounge (2E17)

                     David Rittenhouse Lab - Auditorium A1

The Copycat project is a computer model of analogical thought processes,
particularly ones in which a creative or daring leap is made of the sort that
when done in science often postulates new theoretical constructs or objects
(genes, particles, etc.).  Examples of such analogies in science will be
presented and the copycat model will be discussed.

------------------------------

Date: 3 Mar 87 10:23:53 EST
From: [email-masked]
Subject: Seminar - On Visual Formalisms (CMU)

                           PS SEMINAR

MONDAY, 9 March
WeH 5409
3:30

                     On Visual Formalisms

                          David Harel
                 Weizmann Inst., Rehovot, Israel
                     (At CMU for the year)

  A general mathematical object of diagrammatic nature, the higraph, is
presented. Higraphs borrow and extend ideas from Venn-diagrams, graphs and
hypergraphs. They constitute a visual formalism for describing various
kinds of complex entities, particularly those that involve many sets of
objects having intricate structural (i.e., set-theoretic) interrelationships
as well as additional relations af dynamic, causal or other nature.

  Higraphs appear to have many applications, as well as a rich theory that
awaits further research. We shall exhibit a number of applications in
database theory (entity-relationship diagrams), artificial intelligence
(semantic and associative nets) and concurrent reactive systems (statecharts).
Statecharts constitute a natural extension of conventional state-transition
diagrams in ways that make them appropriate for describing large real-world
systems, and they will be described in the talk in some detail.

__________________________________________

------------------------------

Date: 4 Mar 87 02:29:21 GMT
From: [email-masked]  (Ted Kitzmiller)
Subject: Conference - Workshop on Coupling Symbolic and Numeric
         Computing

Due to electronic mail system problems and other manifestations of Murphy's
law, the deadline for paper submittals to the workshop on coupling symbolic
and numeric computing (see AAAI magazine Winter issue) has been extended
until late March.

If you had previously sent me an electronic mail message about the workshop
and have not received a response, please resend your message.  It appears
that in many instances in which I responded to queries about the workshop
via the network, the responses were not successfully delivered.  Unfortunately,
in these instances no evidence of a problem was indicated.

Please contact me at the e-mail address, telephone, or mail address below
(if you have not done so within the last week) if you are interested.
Please include both your phone number and US mail address along with
an explicit e-mail incantation to your site.

   Ted Kitzmiller
  Boeing Advanced Technology Center
   US Mail:     MS 7L-64 / PO Box 24346 / Seattle / Washington / 98124-0346
   Parcel Post: MS 7L-64 / 2760 160th Avenue SE / Bellevue / Washington / 98008
    Phone: (206) 865-3227         E-mail: [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 26-FEB-1987 15:45 EST
From: [email-masked]
Subject: Conference - AAAI Workshop on PLANNING FOR AUTONOMOUS MOBILE
         ROBOTS

               Call for Participation and abstracts:

         Workshop on PLANNING FOR AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOTS

            July 16, 1987, The University of Washington,
                            Seattle, WA

                          Sponsored by AAAI
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Most  mobile  robot  projects  have concentrated on robots with specific
missions (e.g., complete errands one and two, follow this road for three
miles).   Yet  a truly autonomous robot would have its mission described
at a much higher level.  Its programming would have to  derive  specific
tasks  to  be  accomplished based on unpredictable (and perhaps not even
previously classifiable) conditions in its environment.  This opens  new
issues  for  the type of planning system necessary to guiding autonomous
robots.

The purpose of this workshop  would  be  to  discuss  the  planning  and
knowledge requirements of an autonomous exploratory robot such as a Mars
Rover.  How would such a robot decide on a course?  What  kind  of  risk
assessment is necessary before deciding to make a dangerous observation?
What types of knowledge are necessary for recognizing something as being
interesting,  or  dangerous?   What role will physical knowledge play in
safe  navigation?   Is  either  incremental  or  opportunistic  planning
necessary  for dealing with a dynamic world?  What kind of demands would
the planning system place on the sensory system?

Among the topics of interest are:
        *Spatial Representation                 *Map Building
        *Planning Under Uncertainty             *Risk Analysis

        *Planning in Dynamic Domains            *Physical Reasoning
        *Spatial and Temporal Reasoning         *Sensor Coordination
        *Experience-Based Planning              *Route Planning

Those  interested in participating in the workshop should submit a short
abstract (no more than two  pages)  of  your  work  you  would  wish  to
present.  Mail two copies of your abstract (hard copy only) before April
15, 1987,  to  either  of  the  workshop  organizers.   Invitations  for
workshop participation will be sent out by May 15, 1987.

     David Miller                               David Atkinson
     562 McBryde                                Mail Stop 510-202
     Department of Computer Science             Jet Propulsion Laboratory
     Virginia Tech                              Cal Tech
     Blacksburg, VA 24061                       4800 Oak Grove Drive
                                                Pasadena, CA, 91109

     (703) 961-5605                             (818) 577-6603
     [email-masked]             [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 87 08:59:31 PST
From: [email-masked] (Jon Jacky)
Subject: Conference - Computing and Society in Seattle, Preceding AAAI

(This was sent around in early December - due date 4/1 now approaching)

                               Call for Papers

              DIRECTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF ADVANCED COMPUTING

                    Seattle, Washington   July 12, 1987

The adoption of current computing technology, and of technologies that
seem likely to emerge in the near future, will have a significant impact
on the military, on financial affairs, on privacy and civil liberty, on
the medical and educational professions, and on commerce and business.

The aim of the symposium is to consider these influences in a social and
political context as well as a technical one.  The social implications of
current computing technology, particularly in artificial intelligence, are
such that attempts to separate science and policy are unrealistic.  We
therefore solicit papers that directly address the wide range of ethical
and moral questions that lie at the junction of science and policy.

Within this broad context, we request papers that address the following
particular topics.  The scope of the topics includes, but is not limited
to, the sub-topics listed.

RESEARCH FUNDING                    DEFENSE APPLICATIONS

- Sources of Research Funding       - Machine Autonomy and the Conduct of War
- Effects of Research Funding       - Practical Limits to the Automation of War
- Funding Alternatives              - Can An Automated Defense System Make War
                                      Obsolete?

COMPUTING IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY   COMPUTERS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

- Community Access                  - Computing Access for Handicapped People
- Computerized Voting               - Resource Modeling
- Civil Liberties                   - Arbitration and Conflict Resolution
- Risks of the New Technology       - Educational, Medical and Legal Software
- Computing and the Future of Work

Submissions will be read by members of the program committee, with the
assistance of outside referees.  The program committee includes Andrew
Black (U. WA), Alan Borning (U. WA), Jonathan Jacky (U. WA), Nancy Leveson
(UCI), Abbe Mowshowitz (CCNY), Herb Simon (CMU) and Terry Winograd
(Stanford).

Complete papers, not exceeding 6000 words, should include an abstract,
and a heading indicating to which topic it relates.  Papers related to
AI and/or in-progress work will be favored.  Submissions will be judged
on clarity, insight, significance, and originality.  Papers (3 copies)
are due by April 1, 1987.  Notices of acceptance or rejection will be
mailed by May 1, 1987.  Camera ready copy will be due by June 1, 1987.

Proceedings will be distributed at the Symposium, and will be on sale
during the 1987 AAAI conference.

For further information contact Jonathan Jacky (206-548-4117) or Doug
Schuler (206-783-0145).

       Sponsored by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
                             P.O. Box 85481
                           Seattle, WA  98105

------------------------------

Date: Tue 3 Mar 87 16:30:34-EST
From: Gail E. Kaiser <[email-masked]>
Subject: Conference - HICSS-21 Call For Papers

                                CALL FOR PAPERS

                                  21ST ANNUAL
              HAWAII INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SYSTEM SCIENCES
                                  (HICSS-21)

  Papers  are  invited  for  the session(s) on Use of AI Techniques in Software
Design and Implementation in the software  track  of  the  21st  annual  Hawaii
International  Conference  on  System  Sciences (HICSS-21), to be held in Kona,
Hawaii next January 5-8, 1988.

  Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following  artificial
intelligence  areas  as  they  apply  to  software  design  and implementation,
particularly for large-scale software systems.  Techniques may apply to any  or
all   phases   of   the   software  development  process:  project  management,
requirements,   functional   specification,   design   specification,   modular
decomposition,   coding,   integration,  testing,  maintenance,  documentation,
delivery, etc.  Example applications are given in parentheses.

   - Automatic deduction  (detecting  inconsistencies  among  programmers'
     assumptions, automatic programming)

   - Knowledge   representation   (semantic   nets,   frames,   etc.   for
     representing programming information)

   - Learning  (self-tuning  of  software  tools  to  specific   programs,
     generalization of program fragments to support reusability)

   - Natural  language  (matching  functionality of program parts with the
     corresponding program documentation,  explaining  program  components
     and their interactions to new project member)

   - Planning (detecting interactions among planned changes)

   - Rule-based systems (program transformation, performance tuning)

   - Search (retrieval of reusable program fragments)

  Six  copies of the full paper (maximum 20 double-spaced pages) should be sent
to the session chairman at the address given below.  Papers must arrive by July
1,  1987.    Authors  will  be  notified  of  acceptance  by September 7, 1987.
Camera-ready copies will be due by October 19, 1987.

  Session chairman: Prof. Gail E. Kaiser, Columbia  University,  Department  of
Computer  Science,  New  York, NY 10027. Phone: 212-280-3856.  Electronic mail:
[email-masked], ...!columbia!cs!kaiser

  Software track chairman: Dr. Bruce  D.  Shriver,  IBM  T.J.  Watson  Research
Center,  P.O.  Box  704,  Yorktown  Heights,  NY  10598.  Phone:  914-789-7626.
Electronic mail: [email-masked]

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End of AIList Digest
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