Learning In Autonomous Systems

Dr. Alec Koppel, a Research Scientist for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, as part of the Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD), participates in Risk Roundup to discuss Learning in Autonomous Systems.

Learning in Autonomous Systems

Across nations, enormous amounts of data are created by consumer devices in all sizes, shapes, and forms. From the connected mobile phones to the internet of things, each of these data contains valuable information about users and their personal preferences: what websites they mostly visited, what social media applications they primarily used, what types of videos they mostly watched, etc. With such valuable information, these data become the key to building better and personalized machine learning models to deliver personalized services to enhance user experiences maximally.

While the federated learning model provides a unique way to build such personalized models without intruding on users’ privacy, there is an alternative to these practices emerging in the form of artificial intelligence at the edge. This model of machine learning that will take place near the user, on their device, home hub, or at a local data-aggregation point holds excellent promise. It is crucial to understand and evaluate:

• How would it shape learning in machines?
• What are the trends in learning?
• What is driving the trends?
• What challenges are coming our way as the inherent autonomy of autonomous systems technologies learn, examine, and take action on its own?
• How are the boundaries of autonomous action defined? What controls are set to ensure the boundaries?
• How is the autonomy enabled as learning systems are designed?
• Since the future of machine learning seems decentralized, what should be the approach for the training models?
• What questions do these systems bring for the future of humanity?

The time is now to begin a discussion on learning in autonomous systems.

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Alec Koppel completed his Ph.D. in Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in June of 2017, after which he began work as a Research Scientist for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, MD as part of the Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD). His research agenda focuses on the development of new stochastic optimization, estimation, and approximation algorithms for large-scale or dynamic learning tasks. These problems are especially common in autonomous systems, power systems, communication networks, and finance.

His research focuses on developing new optimization-based methods for learning from streaming data, motivated primarily by autonomous systems. His recent work has emphasized making nonparametric and Bayesian methods scalable in the online setting. He also pursues foundational work in reinforcement learning. These threads are part of the U.S. Army’s Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Essential Research Program. He is based in the United States.

Apart from research, his educational goals are to mentor aspiring researchers at the undergraduate and graduate level and develop core competencies via project-based learning that gives students hands-on experience with messy real-world engineering problems. He is always hunting for student contributors.

About the Host of Risk Roundup

Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt), Ph.D., is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, and security and is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Risk Group LLC. She has been involved in a wide range of research, spanning security of and from science and technology domains. Her work is currently focused on understanding how converging technologies and their interconnectivity across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space (CAGS), as well as individuals and entities across nations: their governments, industries, organizations, and academia (NGIOA), create survival, security, and sustainability risks. This research is pursued to provide strategic security solutions for the future of humanity. From the National Science Foundation to organizations from across the United States, Europe, and Asia, Dr. Pandya is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks. Her work has contributed to more than 100 publications in the areas of science and commerce. She is the author of the books, Geopolitics of Cybersecurity and The Global Age. She writes about Artificial Intelligence on Forbes.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in both audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) format. It is available for subscription at (Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media).

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