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Contention resolution addresses the challenge of coordinating access by multiple processes to a shared resource such as memory, disk storage, or a communication channel. Originally spurred by challenges in database systems and bus networks,…
Large Language Models (LLMs) have become central in academia and industry, raising concerns about privacy, transparency, and misuse. A key issue is the trustworthiness of proprietary models, with open-sourcing often proposed as a solution.…
As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in high-stakes decision-making increases, the ability to contest such decisions is being recognised in AI ethics guidelines as an important safeguard for individuals. Yet, there is little guidance…
Conversational search is based on a user-system cooperation with the objective to solve an information-seeking task. In this report, we discuss the implication of such cooperation with the learning perspective from both user and system…
Large Language Models (LLMs) are a powerful technology that augment human skill to create new opportunities, akin to the development of steam engines and the internet. However, LLMs come with a high cost. They require significant computing…
With AI systems becoming more powerful and pervasive, there is increasing debate about keeping their actions aligned with the broader goals and needs of humanity. This multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder debate must resolve many…
In the past, most search queries issued to a search engine were short and simple. A keyword based search engine was able to answer such queries quite well. However, members are now developing the habit of issuing long and complex natural…
Open data refers to data that is freely available for reuse. Although there has been rapid increase in availability of open data to public in the last decade, this has not translated into better decision-support tools for them. We propose…
Online discourse takes place in corporate-controlled spaces thought by users to be public realms. These platforms in name enable free speech but in practice implement varying degrees of censorship either by government edict or by uneven and…
Information retrieval (IR) research must understand and contend with the social implications of the technology it produces. Instead of adopting a reactionary strategy of trying to mitigate potential social harms from emerging technologies,…
Much has been discussed about how Large Language Models, Knowledge Graphs and Search Engines can be combined in a synergistic manner. A dimension largely absent from current academic discourse is the user perspective. In particular, there…
Search engines can be considered as a gate to the world of WEB, and they also decide what we see for a given search query. Since many people are exposed to information through search engines, it is fair to expect that search engines should…
Conversational search systems enable information retrieval via natural language interactions, with the goal of maximizing users' information gain over multiple dialogue turns. The increasing prevalence of conversational interfaces adopting…
Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) systems represent a critical technology with far-reaching implications across multiple domains of society. However, their deployment entails a range of risks and challenges that require careful…
We identify a distinct motive for search, termed catalytic exploration, where agents rationally explore alternatives they expect to reject to resolve uncertainty about the status quo. By decomposing option value into switching and catalytic…
Generative language models are increasingly used for contract drafting and enhancement, creating a scenario where competing parties deploy different language models against each other. This introduces not only a game-theory challenge but…
The World Wide Web (WWW) allows the people to share the information (data) from the large database repositories globally. The amount of information grows billions of databases. We need to search the information will specialize tools known…
The recent explosion of "foundation" generative AI models has been built upon the extensive extraction of value from online sources, often without corresponding reciprocation. This pattern mirrors and intensifies the extractive practices of…
This article provides a necessary corrective to the belief that current legal and political concepts and institutions are capable of holding to account the power of new AI technologies. Drawing on jurisprudential analysis, it argues that…
Web search engines arguably form the most popular data-driven systems in contemporary society. They wield a considerable power by functioning as gatekeepers of the Web, with most user journeys on the Web beginning with them. Starting from…