Ph.D. Dissertation Defense

Finding a Temporal Frame Comparison Function
for the Metacognitive Loop

Dean Earl Wright III

9:00am Wednesday 26 July 17 August 2011, ITE325 UMBC

The field of Artificial Intelligence has seen steady advances in cognitive systems. However, many of these systems perform poorly when faced with situations outside of their training. And as the real world is dynamic, this brittleness is a major problem in the field today. Adding metacognition to such systems can improve their operation in the face of perturbations found in dynamic environments. The Metacognitive Loop (MCL) works with a host system, monitoring its sensors and expectations. When a failure is indicated, MCL advises the host system on corrective actions.

Differing amounts of metacognition can be made available to the host system. At the lowest level no assistance is given. Above that are rule-based systems with hard-coded responses to stimulations. Next are evaluative systems that weigh multiple inputs using neural network or other techniques. At each level, the metacognition system can provide useful assistance in more situations.

The next level of metacognition adds a temporal dimension. A metacognitive system that has no concept of time has to either treat each new problem as (1) a symptom of previously encountered problems or (2) a completely new problem. Both of these extremes lead to providing poor advice to the host system. Thus, the temporal level of metacognition needs a more discriminating test to compare the current situation encountered by the host system with previous problems.

Several algorithms were developed to find the one that would provide the best performance for a simulated Mars Rover that faced with a dynamic environment with multiple perturbations. Several methods were found that allow MCL to provide good advice most of the time and allow the Mars Rover to successfully complete complex tasks.

Committee:

• Dr. Tim Oates (chair)
• Dr. Marie desJardins
• Dr. Tim Finin
• Dr. Anupam Joshi
• Dr. Don Perlis (UMCP)

All articles published in Cambridge Journals in 2009 and 2010 are free to access for 6 weeks, from 15th July until 30th August 2011.

No registration is required. Simply go to http://journals.cambridge.org

For more information, see http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displaySpecialPage?pageId=2964

Courtesy of Visual News

Are you burned? Here’s some vital SPF facts.

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The Dalai Lama’s Kalachakra takes place in D.C. this week.

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Courtesy of NPR

Americans are rightly worried Mexico’s bloody drug war will spill over into border states.

But on Mexico’s southern border, the escalating conflict has spilled over into Guatemala, silencing a great voice for peace and hope in Latin America.

Last Saturday, Argentine artist and activist Facundo Cabral, was killed in a car on the way to an airport in Guatemala.

It is strongly believed that Cabral may not have been the intended target of a hit. Instead it was the driver, a Nicaraguan businessman.

Like Mexico, Guatemala is plagued with gangs and guns. Even the rich and famous are not safe.

Cabral was not only a singer and songwriter, but a voice of Latin America in the 1970s amidst political tensions and dictatorships. He was a novelist and honored an international messenger of peace by UNESCO in 1996.

One of his most famous songs, which was recorded about forty years ago, “No soy de aquí ni allá” (”I am not from here, nor there”), has been translated into many languages.

The radio show Multi-American, has spoken about the song’s appeal to the cultural identity for the growing numbers of Americans with Latino background.

While the perpetrators have been apprehended, the attack has not only shocked the Latin music community, but left many artists wary of traveling to Guatemala.

The cancerous drug war continues to spread with a cure no where in sight.

Genesis 41:1-43 (NIV)

1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Reflection:

Joseph becomes the “number 2 guy” in all of Egypt after Pharaoh himself. Joseph is the closest a person can be to being a king! He basically acts with all the power that the king has bestowed on him. Of course, little does Pharaoh know that Joseph is actually God’s #2 guy. Perhaps this is the right depiction of how those who are called can live as those who are the instruments of God’s blessing to our generation.

Response:

May we view ourselves as so much more than how the world defines us! We are God’s royal priesthood and more than conquerors through Him who loved us. The Lord has entrusted us with His mission in this generation and has given us His Spirit so we can do the work. Let’s spend some time praying and receiving again the calling that God has given us. Let’s align our hearts even more with His church and His Word.

One of our Dissertation House (DH) students started her own blog.  Margaret is a Chemistry student at UMBC and she is moving right along. Enjoy her posts, they will make you smile! http://adventuresofdissertationwriting.wordpress.com/ . Margaret wore her “6 Steps to Completing Your Dissertation” tee-shirt (distributed by AAAS at the American Chemical Society – ACS conference) to the DH last Friday. Humor is incorporated in the design of the shirt which describes the steps as drudgery, procrastination, panic, despair, drudgery, and printing.  Perhaps step 3 fits Margaret’s post for today, “Freak Out Moment #1.” We applaud Margaret on her blog and on her determination to work through the drudgery toward the great reward!

You can read comments from other DH students on our online challenge page. http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2011-challenge/

One of our Dissertation House (DH) students started her own blog.  Margaret is a Chemistry student at UMBC and she is moving right along. Enjoy her posts, they will make you smile! http://adventuresofdissertationwriting.wordpress.com/ . Margaret wore her “6 Steps to Completing Your Dissertation” tee-shirt (distributed by AAAS at the American Chemical Society – ACS conference) to the DH last Friday. Humor is incorporated in the design of the shirt which describes the steps as drudgery, procrastination, panic, despair, drudgery, and printing.  Perhaps step 3 fits Margaret’s post for today, “Freak Out Moment #1.” We applaud Margaret on her blog and on her determination to work through the drudgery toward the great reward!

You can read comments from other DH students on our online challenge page. http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2011-challenge/

Amid tuition increases, student protest rallies and faculty taking job offers elsewhere, the staggering cuts to the state budget was a running narrative during this year’s California Higher Education Sustainability Conference. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a budget in June that cut higher education by $1.3 billion and it was announced recently that students in all 23 California State University campuses will be paying 12 percent more this fall than they did last year.

It would be easy to associate the words “defeat,” “surrender” and “paralyzed” to California’s higher education situation. But the words ringing through the conference, held July 10-13 at California State University, Long Beach, were “opportunity” “proactive” and “empowered.”

The budget cuts have created motivation during a time that many would consider no longer possible to move forward with sustainability efforts. “Budget cuts support sustainability because the resources that we are draining down the electricity wires or pouring down the drain or sending off to landfills suddenly matters,” said Matthew St. Clair, sustainability manager at the University of California Office of the President, during a Tuesday session. “Suddenly, the University of California cares about its $300-350 million-a-year energy bill in a way that it never has before.”

Now more than ever, it is also important for campuses to look at ways that sustainability is directly supporting budget cuts. Since 2004, new buildings in the UC system have been required to outperform the state energy code by at least 20 percent. To do so, campuses have registered in a priority savings program that provides assistance and credits. By the end of 2010, the system received or was slated to receive $8 million toward projects from utilities for energy-efficient design.

Another example is an energy savings goal passed by UC Regents in 2003. From its start in 2004 to 2010, system-wide energy efficiency projects avoided $21 million in utility costs.

St. Clair also pointed out that the budget crisis has motivated the UC system toward fundamental, systematic strides in sustainability. He detailed the UC system’s Working Smarter Initiative, which has created $157 million in system-wide administrative efficiencies over the past year and is on track to achieve $500 million in positive fiscal impact over five years.

On a campus level, state budget cuts have left campuses like the University of California, Davis in the lurch with—among other things—building operating costs. The university is building a new veterinary medicine building that will seek LEED Gold certification. It is scheduled to open its doors in 2012 with an annual operating cost of $1.4 million. State-funded buildings used to get $9 per square foot in operating costs. That budget has been cut.

“So we’re going to build a $60 million dollar building and open the doors and we have no way to pay for the energy, the water, the sewer, waste pick-up, building maintenance, custodial and grounds,” said Sid England during the “Turning Crisis into Opportunity” conference session. England, the assistant vice chancellor of environmental stewardship and sustainability at UC Davis, said that for the first time, the costs may fall to the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.

With the budget crisis forcing creative thinking, the dean has come up with $2 million in one-time funds to reduce the $1.4 million annual cost to something lower for an already ambitious LEED Gold science building. The university is currently examining several areas for reductions including energy, behavior modification outreach, infrastructure improvements and even the consolidation of building space on campus.

Stepping back, California is not the only state that is or will be experiencing a higher education budget crisis. From 1980 to 2000, California experienced the same change in demographics that the U.S. is projected to go through from 2000 to 2050, said Dr. Manuel Pastor during the conference’s opening keynote speech. By 2042, the U.S. is expected to be a majority minority nation and by 2020, youth will make up the majority of the population.

“The bigger the demographic gap between old and young, the less the state is willing to spend on education,” said Pastor, a professor of American studies and ethnicity and director of the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at the University of Southern California. In California, 63 percent of voters are whites over 65 years old and 70 percent of youth under 18 years old are people of color.

This changing demography is a challenge to the economic future, said Pastor, as it is a shift toward more inequality in the economy. We think of creating a more sustainable planet in terms of how we organize our campuses and utilize public transit, said Pastor, “but there is a connection between issues of social inequity and our environment. One of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions is the way in which we have sprawled across the landscape. Much of that sprawl has been the desire to separate between race and class.”

We need to be dealing with issues of race, inequality and justice as part of dealing with issues of climate and sustainability, said Pastor. He emphasized the green jobs movement as having the ability to marry the issues of economy, equity and environment in a way that can resurrect our economy.

Urging the higher education community to continue its advocacy work toward sustainability policy changes, Pastor encouraged conference attendees to build alliances with people who may not have been initially be on their side, but who might be ready to listen as a result of economic or changing demography concerns: "There is an immediate need to think long term."

For more conference coverage, see "Greening California's Colleges and Universities" on the California State University website.

Amid tuition increases, student protest rallies and faculty taking job offers elsewhere, the staggering cuts to the state budget was a running narrative during this year’s California Higher Education Sustainability Conference. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a budget in June that cut higher education by $1.3 billion and it was announced recently that students in all 23 California State University campuses will be paying 12 percent more this fall than they did last year.

It would be easy to associate the words “defeat,” “surrender” and “paralyzed” to California’s higher education situation. But the words ringing through the conference, held July 10-13 at California State University, Long Beach, were “opportunity” “proactive” and “empowered.”

The budget cuts have created motivation during a time that many would consider no longer possible to move forward with sustainability efforts. “Budget cuts support sustainability because the resources that we are draining down the electricity wires or pouring down the drain or sending off to landfills suddenly matters,” said Matthew St. Clair, sustainability manager at the University of California Office of the President, during a Tuesday session. “Suddenly, the University of California cares about its $300-350 million-a-year energy bill in a way that it never has before.”

Now more than ever, it is also important for campuses to look at ways that sustainability is directly supporting budget cuts. Since 2004, new buildings in the UC system have been required to outperform the state energy code by at least 20 percent. To do so, campuses have registered in a priority savings program that provides assistance and credits. By the end of 2010, the system received or was slated to receive $8 million toward projects from utilities for energy-efficient design.

Another example is an energy savings goal passed by UC Regents in 2003. From its start in 2004 to 2010, system-wide energy efficiency projects avoided $21 million in utility costs.

St. Clair also pointed out that the budget crisis has motivated the UC system toward fundamental, systematic strides in sustainability. He detailed the UC system’s Working Smarter Initiative, which has created $157 million in system-wide administrative efficiencies over the past year and is on track to achieve $500 million in positive fiscal impact over five years.

On a campus level, state budget cuts have left campuses like the University of California, Davis in the lurch with—among other things—building operating costs. The university is building a new veterinary medicine building that will seek LEED Gold certification. It is scheduled to open its doors in 2012 with an annual operating cost of $1.4 million. State-funded buildings used to get $9 per square foot in operating costs. That budget has been cut.

“So we’re going to build a $60 million dollar building and open the doors and we have no way to pay for the energy, the water, the sewer, waste pick-up, building maintenance, custodial and grounds,” said Sid England during the “Turning Crisis into Opportunity” conference session. England, the assistant vice chancellor of environmental stewardship and sustainability at UC Davis, said that for the first time, the costs may fall to the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.

With the budget crisis forcing creative thinking, the dean has come up with $2 million in one-time funds to reduce the $1.4 million annual cost to something lower for an already ambitious LEED Gold science building. The university is currently examining several areas for reductions including energy, behavior modification outreach, infrastructure improvements and even the consolidation of building space on campus.

Stepping back, California is not the only state that is or will be experiencing a higher education budget crisis. From 1980 to 2000, California experienced the same change in demographics that the U.S. is projected to go through from 2000 to 2050, said Dr. Manuel Pastor during the conference’s opening keynote speech. By 2042, the U.S. is expected to be a majority minority nation and by 2020, youth will make up the majority of the population.

“The bigger the demographic gap between old and young, the less the state is willing to spend on education,” said Pastor, a professor of American studies and ethnicity and director of the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at the University of Southern California. In California, 63 percent of voters are whites over 65 years old and 70 percent of youth under 18 years old are people of color.

This changing demography is a challenge to the economic future, said Pastor, as it is a shift toward more inequality in the economy. We think of creating a more sustainable planet in terms of how we organize our campuses and utilize public transit, said Pastor, “but there is a connection between issues of social inequity and our environment. One of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions is the way in which we have sprawled across the landscape. Much of that sprawl has been the desire to separate between race and class.”

We need to be dealing with issues of race, inequality and justice as part of dealing with issues of climate and sustainability, said Pastor. He emphasized the green jobs movement as having the ability to marry the issues of economy, equity and environment in a way that can resurrect our economy.

Urging the higher education community to continue its advocacy work toward sustainability policy changes, Pastor encouraged conference attendees to build alliances with people who may not have been initially be on their side, but who might be ready to listen as a result of economic or changing demography concerns: "There is an immediate need to think long term."

For more conference coverage, see "Greening California's Colleges and Universities" on the California State University website.