Thamar Solorio from the University of Houston will discuss machine learning approaches for spontaneous human language processing. The talk will cover adapting multilingual transformers to code-switching data and using data augmentation for domain adaptation in sequence labeling tasks. Solorio will also provide an overview of other research projects at the RiTUAL lab, focusing on the scarcity of labeled data. Why it matters: This presentation addresses key challenges in Arabic NLP related to data scarcity, which is a persistent obstacle in developing effective AI applications for the region.
Researchers fine-tuned the Qwen2-1.5B model for Arabic using QLoRA on a 4GB VRAM system, using datasets like Bactrian and Arabic Wikipedia. They addressed challenges in Arabic NLP including morphology and dialectal variations. After 10,000 training steps, the final loss converged to 0.1083 with improved handling of Arabic-specific linguistic phenomena. Why it matters: This demonstrates a resource-efficient approach for creating specialized Arabic language models, democratizing access to advanced NLP technologies.
Dr. Teresa Lynn from Dublin City University (DCU) discussed the challenges in developing NLP tools for Irish, a low-resource language facing digital extinction. She highlighted the lack of speech and language applications and fundamental language resources for Irish. Lynn also mentioned her work at DCU on the GaelTech project and her involvement in the European Language Equality project. Why it matters: The development of NLP tools for low-resource languages like Irish is crucial for preserving linguistic diversity and preventing digital marginalization in the AI era.
MBZUAI Ph.D. graduate Hilal Mohammad Hilal AlQuabeh researched methods to improve the efficiency of machine learning algorithms, specifically focusing on pairwise learning and multi-instance learning. Pairwise learning teaches AI to make decisions by comparing options in pairs, useful for ranking and anomaly detection. Multi-instance learning involves learning from sets of data points, applicable in areas like drug discovery. Why it matters: Optimizing AI for low-resource environments expands its accessibility and applicability in critical sectors like healthcare and remote area operations.
Researchers at National Taiwan University are developing low-complexity neural network technologies using quantization to reduce model size while maintaining accuracy. Their work includes binary-weighted CNNs and transformers, along with a neural architecture search scheme (TPC-NAS) applied to image recognition, object detection, and NLP tasks. They have also built a PE-based CNN/transformer hardware accelerator in Xilinx FPGA SoC with a PyTorch-based software framework. Why it matters: This research provides practical methods for deploying efficient deep learning models on resource-constrained hardware, potentially enabling broader adoption of AI in embedded systems and edge devices.
MBZUAI's computer science department, led by Xiaosong Ma, focuses on improving AI efficiency and sustainability by reducing wasted resources. Xiaosong's background in high-performance computing informs her approach to optimizing AI workloads. She aims to collaborate with experts across different AI domains at MBZUAI to address these challenges. Why it matters: Optimizing AI efficiency is crucial for reducing the environmental impact and computational costs associated with increasingly complex AI models in the GCC region and globally.
MBZUAI PhD graduate William de Vazelhes is researching hard-thresholding algorithms to enable AI to work from smaller datasets. His work focuses on optimization algorithms that simplify data, making it easier to analyze and work with, useful for energy-saving and deploying AI models on low-memory devices. He demonstrated that his approach can obtain results similar to those of convex algorithms in many usual settings. Why it matters: This research could broaden AI accessibility by reducing computational costs, and has potential applications in sectors like finance, particularly for portfolio management under budgetary constraints.