Northeastern University London Repository
Not a member yet
1286 research outputs found
Sort by
Vagueness, conditionals, and context-sensitivity
No full textI argue that practically all vague language is context-sensitive in a covert and unfamiliar way. I first outline a novel puzzle concerning the interaction of conditionals and vagueness. I then argue that the best way of resolving the puzzle is through positing context-sensitive penumbral connections between sundry parts of language. I argue that these penumbral connections shift through a distinct form of Lewisian accommodation. The upshot is that meaning is a far shiftier thing than has typically been thought
The temporal dynamics of group interactions in higher-order social networks
Get PDFRepresenting social systems as networks, starting from the interactions between individuals, sheds light on the mechanisms governing their dynamics. However, networks encode only pairwise interactions, while most social interactions occur among groups of individuals, requiring higher-order network representations. Despite the recent interest in higher-order networks, little is known about the mechanisms that govern the formation and evolution of groups, and how people move between groups. Here, we leverage empirical data on social interactions among children and university students to study their temporal dynamics at both individual and group levels, characterising how individuals navigate groups and how groups form and disaggregate. We find robust patterns across contexts and propose a dynamical model that closely reproduces empirical observations. These results represent a further step in understanding social systems, and open up research directions to study the impact of group dynamics on dynamical processes that evolve on top of them
Nexus between digital trade and security: geopolitical implications for global economy in the digital age
Get PDFThis special issue explores the relationship between digital trade and security, emphasizing the geopolitical implications for the global economy in the digital age. The rapid growth of digital trade has introduced significant challenges and opportunities, necessitating robust data governance to balance national security interests with the free flow of goods, services, and data across borders. The papers explore the different models of data governance championed by the US, China, and the EU, highlighting the complexities of cross-border data flows and their impact on international relations. Through detailed analyses of various international agreements and frameworks, this special issue provides a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of digital trade and its security implications, with a particular focus on China's evolving approach to data governance and its global influence
Episode 1 - A Medieval Gap Year: Phoebe Power’s Book of Day with Dr Rebecca Newby
No full textWhy go on a pilgrimage? What can we learn from medieval pilgrimage practices? And what does poetry have to do with this? Join me and medieval literature scholar Dr Rebecca Newby as we talk about Book of Days, a poetry collection by Phoebe Power. It charts the poet’s journey along the ancient ‘Camino’, the 790km pilgrimage from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. The sequence travels across Northern Spain in a meandering free-verse form, threading together observations on faith, the landscape and fellow pilgrims. The poems are in a numbered sequence and titled by location, and shift through a series of voices and perspectives on modern pilgrimage. It was published by Carcanet Poetry in 2022
Recent Advances in Ammonia Synthesis Modeling and Experiments on Metal Nitrides and Other Catalytic Surfaces
Get PDFAbstract: In this review, we explore the recent progress in catalytic materials for the ammonia syntheses
that are based on metal nitrides and other catalytic surfaces. It comprises a detailed overlook of
the various techniques used in ammonia synthesis research and the state-of-the-art modeling techniques
employed to investigate new reaction mechanisms and more efficient processes for sustainable
ammonia synthesis production. The review is discussed in the context of the reaction mechanisms
developed and the recent progress that has been made with respect to thermal, electrochemical, and
photocatalytic ammonia synthesis
Applying Reinforcement Learning to Combine Multiple Swarm-based Algorithms
Get PDFSwarm intelligence is a very efficient field for the optimization of high-dimensional functions. Nevertheless, choosing the best swarm-based algorithm is still challenging because it requires expertise in the field. Here, we propose to use reinforcement learning to dynamically select the swarm-based techniques to solve a benchmark function based on the current simulation state. First, we created a swarm capable of modifying its metaphor over iteration. Next, we created a reinforcement learning environment to solve benchmark functions. Then, we trained Proximal Policy Optimization to select the well-suited metaheuristic (GWO, GPSO or LPSO) to solve Rastrigin and F3 based on the information retrieved from the simulation. Our proposal reached competitive results in all simulated scenarios. Moreover, we found that the use of GPSO is consistently more efficient at the middle of the convergence and that using GWO is more efficient than using the other selected algorithms at the beginning of the convergence. Future works will bring us more robustness in combining swarm-based techniques while decreasing the computational cost. Thus, we show that reinforcement learning has the potential to overcome the effort of choosing the well-suited metaheuristic for a specific problem
Wittgenstein and AI (Volume I): Mind and Language
No full textThe two volumes on Wittgenstein and AI aim to trace and suggest Wittgensteinian influences in some of the most cutting-edge areas of research in Artificial Intelligence (such as Computation, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and the use of automation in legal settings). The collection is driven by an essentially interdisciplinary approach, featuring articles from philosophers, computer scientists and legal scholars, writing on a broad range of topics in AI.
The chapters across these two volumes are grouped into two sets of themes: Mind and Language and Value and Governance. These themes correspond to two major areas of research in the philosophical study of AI: the computational mind and the ethics of artificial intelligence. These volumes make a significant and unprecedented contribution to the question of what Wittgenstein’s philosophy can offer to the ever-growing field of AI. It aims to provide insight for both philosophers and non-philosophers alike, offering reflection on the significance of Wittgenstein’s work for AI, and on the implications of advancements in AI technology for Wittgenstein’s philosophy and philosophy influenced by Wittgenstein.
VOLUME I: Wittgenstein and AI (Volume I): Mind and Language. This volume includes chapters on Wittgenstein and Turing’s views on AI, the question of whether machines can think, intentionality, AI language models, analogical reasoning and logic
'Mapping Global Literatures': A Talk for GIS Day
Get PDFThis public-facing talk to celebrate GIS day focused on my digital humanities projects mapping global literatures. This collaborative project sees students studying global literatures learn digital mapping skills to produce maps which illuminate ancient times, places, and narratives. The first project centers on *The Epic of Gilgamesh*, and tracks both epic journeys and wider points of reference in the text. Such mapping facilitates new insights, for example into the relationships between mythical and real time and place