Estimating treatment effects is one of the most challenging and important tasks of data analysts. In many applications, like online marketing and personalized medicine, treatment needs to be allocated to the individuals where it yields a high positive treatment effect. Uplift models help select the right individuals for treatment and maximize the overall treatment effect (uplift). A major challenge in uplift modeling concerns model evaluation. Previous literature suggests methods like the Qini curve and the transformed outcome mean squared error. However, these metrics suffer from variance: their evaluations are strongly affected by random noise in the data, which renders their signals, to a certain degree, arbitrary. We theoretically analyze the variance of uplift evaluation metrics and derive possible methods of variance reduction, which are based on statistical adjustment of the outcome. We derive simple conditions under which the variance reduction methods improve the uplift evaluation metrics and empirically demonstrate their benefits on simulated and real-world data. Our paper provides strong evidence in favor of applying the suggested variance reduction procedures by default when evaluating uplift models on RCT data.

生成模型在取样质量，多样性和特征解剖学方面的成功综合了图像数据。由于缺失的表示，时间序列的生成模型缺乏这些优势，从而捕获时间动态并允许反转进行采样。本文提出了跨期返回图（IRP）表示，以便于使用基于图像的生成对冲网络进行时间序列。该代表证明有效地捕获时间序列特征，与替代陈述相比，可靠性和尺度不变性的益处。经验基准确认这些功能并证明IRP能够具有梯度惩罚的现成的WASSERTEIN GAN来采样现实时间序列，这始于专门的基于RNN的GAN，同时降低了模型复杂性。

像长期短期内存网络（LSTMS）和门控复发单元（GRUS）相同的经常性神经网络（RNN）是建模顺序数据的流行选择。它们的门控机构允许以来自传入观测的新信息在隐藏状态中编码的先前历史。在许多应用程序中，例如医疗记录，观察时间是不规则的并且携带重要信息。然而，LSTM和GRUS在观察之间假设恒定的时间间隔。为了解决这一挑战，我们提出了连续的经常性单位（CRU）-A神经结构，可以自然地处理观察之间的不规则时间间隔。 CRU的浇注机制采用卡尔曼滤波器的连续制剂，并且根据线性随机微分方程（SDE）和（2）潜伏状态在新观察进入时，在（1）之间的连续潜在传播之间的交替。在实证研究，我们表明CRU可以比神经常规差分方程（神经颂歌）的模型更好地插值不规则时间序列。我们还表明，我们的模型可以从IM-AGES推断动力学，并且卡尔曼有效地单挑出候选人的候选人，从而从嘈杂的观察中获得有价值的状态更新。

算法决策的兴起催生了许多关于公平机器学习（ML）的研究。金融机构使用ML来建立支持一系列与信贷有关的决定的风险记分卡。然而，关于信用评分的公平ML的文献很少。该论文做出了三项贡献。首先，我们重新审视统计公平标准，并检查其对信用评分的适当性。其次，我们对将公平目标纳入ML模型开发管道中的算法选项进行了分类。最后，我们从经验上比较了使用现实世界数据以利润为导向的信用评分上下文中的不同公平处理器。经验结果证实了对公平措施的评估，确定了实施公平信用评分的合适选择，并阐明了贷款决策中的利润权衡。我们发现，可以立即达到多个公平标准，并建议分离作为衡量记分卡的公平性的适当标准。我们还发现公平的过程中，可以在利润和公平之间实现良好的平衡，并表明算法歧视可以以相对较低的成本降低到合理的水平。与该论文相对应的代码可在GitHub上获得。

Diversity Searcher is a tool originally developed to help analyse diversity in news media texts. It relies on a form of automated content analysis and thus rests on prior assumptions and depends on certain design choices related to diversity and fairness. One such design choice is the external knowledge source(s) used. In this article, we discuss implications that these sources can have on the results of content analysis. We compare two data sources that Diversity Searcher has worked with - DBpedia and Wikidata - with respect to their ontological coverage and diversity, and describe implications for the resulting analyses of text corpora. We describe a case study of the relative over- or under-representation of Belgian political parties between 1990 and 2020 in the English-language DBpedia, the Dutch-language DBpedia, and Wikidata, and highlight the many decisions needed with regard to the design of this data analysis and the assumptions behind it, as well as implications from the results. In particular, we came across a staggering over-representation of the political right in the English-language DBpedia.

Artificial intelligence(AI) systems based on deep neural networks (DNNs) and machine learning (ML) algorithms are increasingly used to solve critical problems in bioinformatics, biomedical informatics, and precision medicine. However, complex DNN or ML models that are unavoidably opaque and perceived as black-box methods, may not be able to explain why and how they make certain decisions. Such black-box models are difficult to comprehend not only for targeted users and decision-makers but also for AI developers. Besides, in sensitive areas like healthcare, explainability and accountability are not only desirable properties of AI but also legal requirements -- especially when AI may have significant impacts on human lives. Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is an emerging field that aims to mitigate the opaqueness of black-box models and make it possible to interpret how AI systems make their decisions with transparency. An interpretable ML model can explain how it makes predictions and which factors affect the model's outcomes. The majority of state-of-the-art interpretable ML methods have been developed in a domain-agnostic way and originate from computer vision, automated reasoning, or even statistics. Many of these methods cannot be directly applied to bioinformatics problems, without prior customization, extension, and domain adoption. In this paper, we discuss the importance of explainability with a focus on bioinformatics. We analyse and comprehensively overview of model-specific and model-agnostic interpretable ML methods and tools. Via several case studies covering bioimaging, cancer genomics, and biomedical text mining, we show how bioinformatics research could benefit from XAI methods and how they could help improve decision fairness.

Kernel machines have sustained continuous progress in the field of quantum chemistry. In particular, they have proven to be successful in the low-data regime of force field reconstruction. This is because many physical invariances and symmetries can be incorporated into the kernel function to compensate for much larger datasets. So far, the scalability of this approach has however been hindered by its cubical runtime in the number of training points. While it is known, that iterative Krylov subspace solvers can overcome these burdens, they crucially rely on effective preconditioners, which are elusive in practice. Practical preconditioners need to be computationally efficient and numerically robust at the same time. Here, we consider the broad class of Nystr\"om-type methods to construct preconditioners based on successively more sophisticated low-rank approximations of the original kernel matrix, each of which provides a different set of computational trade-offs. All considered methods estimate the relevant subspace spanned by the kernel matrix columns using different strategies to identify a representative set of inducing points. Our comprehensive study covers the full spectrum of approaches, starting from naive random sampling to leverage score estimates and incomplete Cholesky factorizations, up to exact SVD decompositions.

We present an automatic method for annotating images of indoor scenes with the CAD models of the objects by relying on RGB-D scans. Through a visual evaluation by 3D experts, we show that our method retrieves annotations that are at least as accurate as manual annotations, and can thus be used as ground truth without the burden of manually annotating 3D data. We do this using an analysis-by-synthesis approach, which compares renderings of the CAD models with the captured scene. We introduce a 'cloning procedure' that identifies objects that have the same geometry, to annotate these objects with the same CAD models. This allows us to obtain complete annotations for the ScanNet dataset and the recent ARKitScenes dataset.

Objective: Imbalances of the electrolyte concentration levels in the body can lead to catastrophic consequences, but accurate and accessible measurements could improve patient outcomes. While blood tests provide accurate measurements, they are invasive and the laboratory analysis can be slow or inaccessible. In contrast, an electrocardiogram (ECG) is a widely adopted tool which is quick and simple to acquire. However, the problem of estimating continuous electrolyte concentrations directly from ECGs is not well-studied. We therefore investigate if regression methods can be used for accurate ECG-based prediction of electrolyte concentrations. Methods: We explore the use of deep neural networks (DNNs) for this task. We analyze the regression performance across four electrolytes, utilizing a novel dataset containing over 290000 ECGs. For improved understanding, we also study the full spectrum from continuous predictions to binary classification of extreme concentration levels. To enhance clinical usefulness, we finally extend to a probabilistic regression approach and evaluate different uncertainty estimates. Results: We find that the performance varies significantly between different electrolytes, which is clinically justified in the interplay of electrolytes and their manifestation in the ECG. We also compare the regression accuracy with that of traditional machine learning models, demonstrating superior performance of DNNs. Conclusion: Discretization can lead to good classification performance, but does not help solve the original problem of predicting continuous concentration levels. While probabilistic regression demonstrates potential practical usefulness, the uncertainty estimates are not particularly well-calibrated. Significance: Our study is a first step towards accurate and reliable ECG-based prediction of electrolyte concentration levels.

Earthquakes, fire, and floods often cause structural collapses of buildings. The inspection of damaged buildings poses a high risk for emergency forces or is even impossible, though. We present three recent selected missions of the Robotics Task Force of the German Rescue Robotics Center, where both ground and aerial robots were used to explore destroyed buildings. We describe and reflect the missions as well as the lessons learned that have resulted from them. In order to make robots from research laboratories fit for real operations, realistic test environments were set up for outdoor and indoor use and tested in regular exercises by researchers and emergency forces. Based on this experience, the robots and their control software were significantly improved. Furthermore, top teams of researchers and first responders were formed, each with realistic assessments of the operational and practical suitability of robotic systems.