Seminars

We hold regular online or hybrid research seminars (as invited talks or reading groups). Our seminars are supported by IDSAI (Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence) at the University of Exeter. 

All times below are BST time (London). We update seminar information (with a Zoom link) through Google Group.

Upcoming seminars:

17 May 2024, 2-3pm: Dr Filip Miletić at the University of Stuttgart. 

• Title: Modeling the compositionality of noun compounds: Challenges in models and data

• Abstract: The meaning of multiword expressions such as noun compounds is characterized by varying degrees of compositionality, i.e. it may be similar to the sum of the component parts (e.g. climate change) or unrelated to it (e.g. silver bullet). This is one key feature that makes computational modeling of compound semantics remarkably challenging. In the first part of the talk, I will present recent work on probing pretrained language models for noun compound semantics, which highlights strong variability in performance with respect to properties of model architectures as well as preprocessing decisions. In the second part of the talk, I will discuss research aiming to model the evolution of compound meanings over time, comparing modeling approaches of various complexity while working on diachronic corpora as a notoriously sparse type of data.

7 June, 2024, 3:30-4:30pm: Prof Roberto Navigli at the Sapienza University of Rome.

• MOSAICo: a Multilingual Open-text Semantically Annotated Interlinked Corpus - NAACL 2024

Previous seminars:

25 April 2024, 2-3pm: Dr Hang Dong at the University of Exeter.

• Title: Integrating Language Models and Knowledge Graphs for NLP in Healthcare

• Abstract: Neural Language Models and Knowledge Graphs are two distinct ways in AI with a broadly similar aim to organise data and information for their retrieval. They can be integrated to provide more explainable and trustworthy AI applications. I will present previous research on classifying and linking texts to Knowledge Graphs (including ontologies) in healthcare, including the applications of automated clinical coding, rare disease identification, and discovering new medical concepts to enrich a Knowledge Graph. Finally, I will present a research agenda on integrating Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs to process heterogeneous data to support healthcare professionals (e.g., in dementia).

• Link to slides and video recording (Passcode: h&0m7QcE)

12 April 2024, 2-3pm: Dr Marten van Schijndel at Cornell University.

• Title: Next Best Bytes Belie Robust Representations

• Abstract: In language applications, vectors from neural network language models are commonly used to encode semantic information. While these proxies work well for natural language processing tasks, it remains an open question how human-like the resulting representations are. First, I will argue that language model training objectives produce language representations that differ in key ways from human linguistic representations. I will then discuss multiple studies from my group that identify weaknesses in standard tokenization and analysis methods which produce mismatches with human linguistic response patterns, after which I will suggest alternatives to better model human responses.

• Link to video recording (Passcode: ZVBx%T$7)

2 April 2024, 3-4pm: Prof Lilian Cristine Hübne at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul - PUCRS - Brazil. 

• • Title: Language and cognitive assessment in (a)typical adulthood and aging using computational tools

  • Abstract: Studies have demonstrated the influence of aging on language and general cognitive processing. Variables such as educational level and literacy habits over the course of a lifetime can be associated with cognitive-linguistic decline, maintenance, or improvement in healthy older adults and also appear to play a role in the onset of cognitive decline and dementia syndromes. This presentation will discuss studies that have been developed in language and cognitive assessment using computational tools and how the integration of these fields can contribute to the diagnosis of cognitive disorders as well as to the differentiation of groups by socioeconomic and cultural characteristics in adulthood and aging.

  • Link to slides and video recording (Passcode: #A6#qRWG)