Author
Alexis Toumi
Bio: Alexis Toumi is an academic researcher from University of Oxford. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sentence & Question answering. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 25 publications receiving 183 citations.
Papers
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TL;DR: The encoding of linguistic structure within quantum circuits also embodies a novel approach for establishing word-meanings that goes beyond the current standards in mainstream AI, by placing linguistic structure at the heart of Wittgenstein's meaning-is-context.
Abstract: We provide conceptual and mathematical foundations for near-term quantum natural language processing (QNLP), and do so in quantum computer scientist friendly terms. We opted for an expository presentation style, and provide references for supporting empirical evidence and formal statements concerning mathematical generality.
We recall how the quantum model for natural language that we employ canonically combines linguistic meanings with rich linguistic structure, most notably grammar. In particular, the fact that it takes a quantum-like model to combine meaning and structure, establishes QNLP as quantum-native, on par with simulation of quantum systems. Moreover, the now leading Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) paradigm for encoding classical data on quantum hardware, variational quantum circuits, makes NISQ exceptionally QNLP-friendly: linguistic structure can be encoded as a free lunch, in contrast to the apparently exponentially expensive classical encoding of grammar.
Quantum speed-up for QNLP tasks has already been established in previous work with Will Zeng. Here we provide a broader range of tasks which all enjoy the same advantage.
Diagrammatic reasoning is at the heart of QNLP. Firstly, the quantum model interprets language as quantum processes via the diagrammatic formalism of categorical quantum mechanics. Secondly, these diagrams are via ZX-calculus translated into quantum circuits. Parameterisations of meanings then become the circuit variables to be learned.
Our encoding of linguistic structure within quantum circuits also embodies a novel approach for establishing word-meanings that goes beyond the current standards in mainstream AI, by placing linguistic structure at the heart of Wittgenstein's meaning-is-context.
52 citations
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12 Feb 2016TL;DR: The theory of equilibrium checking is developed, a related but distinct problem, relevant for multi-agent systems in which system components are assumed to be acting rationally in pursuit of delegated goals, and is concerned with understanding what temporal properties hold of such systems under the assumption that agents select strategies in equilibrium.
Abstract: Model checking is the best-known and most successful approach to formally verifying that systems satisfy specifications, expressed as temporal logic formulae. In this article, we develop the theory of equilibrium checking, a related but distinct problem. Equilibrium checking is relevant for multi-agent systems in which system components (agents) are assumed to be acting rationally in pursuit of delegated goals, and is concerned with understanding what temporal properties hold of such systems under the assumption that agents select strategies in equilibrium. The formal framework we use to study this problem assumes agents are modelled using Reactive Modules, a system modelling language that is used in a range of practical model checking systems. Each agent (or player) in a Reactive Modulesgame is specified as a nondeterministic guarded command program, and each player's goal is specified with a temporal logic formula that the player desires to see satisfied. A strategy for a player in a Reactive Modules game defines how that player selects enabled guarded commands for execution over successive rounds of the game. For this general setting, we investigate games in which players have goals specified in Linear Temporal Logic (in which case it is assumed that players choose deterministic strategies) and in Computation Tree Logic (in which case players select nondeterministic strategies). For each of these cases, after formally defining the game setting, we characterise the complexity of a range of problems relating to Nash equilibria (e.g., the computation or the verification of existence of a Nash equilibrium or checking whether a given temporal formula is satisfied on some Nash equilibrium). We then go on to show how the model we present can be used to encode, for example, games in which the choices available to players are specified using STRIPS planning operators.
39 citations
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TL;DR: This work presents a method for mapping DisCoCat diagrams to quantum circuits, compatible both with NISQ devices and with established Quantum Machine Learning techniques, paving the way to near-term applications of quantum technology to natural language processing.
Abstract: In this work, we describe a full-stack pipeline for natural language processing on near-term quantum computers, aka QNLP. The language modelling framework we employ is that of compositional distributional semantics (DisCoCat), which extends and complements the compositional structure of pregroup grammars. Within this model, the grammatical reduction of a sentence is interpreted as a diagram, encoding a specific interaction of words according to the grammar. It is this interaction which, together with a specific choice of word embedding, realises the meaning (or "semantics") of a sentence. Building on the formal quantum-like nature of such interactions, we present a method for mapping DisCoCat diagrams to quantum circuits. Our methodology is compatible both with NISQ devices and with established Quantum Machine Learning techniques, paving the way to near-term applications of quantum technology to natural language processing.
32 citations
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29 Oct 2015TL;DR: This paper describes a tool through which to automatically verify Nash equilibrium strategies for Reactive Modules Games, and makes extensive use of conventional temporal logic satisfiability and model checking techniques.
Abstract: Reactive Modules is a high-level specification language for concurrent and multi-agent systems, used in a number of practical model checking tools. Reactive Modules Games is a game-theoretic extension of Reactive Modules, in which concurrent agents in the system are assumed to act strategically in an attempt to satisfy a temporal logic formula representing their individual goal. The basic analytical concept for Reactive Modules Games is Nash equilibrium. In this paper, we describe a tool through which we can automatically verify Nash equilibrium strategies for Reactive Modules Games. Our tool takes as input a system, specified in the Reactive Modules language, a representation of players' goals expressed as CTL formulae, and a representation of players strategies; it then checks whether these strategies form a Nash equilibrium of the Reactive Modules Game passed as input. The tool makes extensive use of conventional temporal logic satisfiability and model checking techniques. We first give an overview of the theory underpinning the tool, briefly describe its structure and implementation, and conclude by presenting a worked example analysed using the tool.
28 citations
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TL;DR: This work performs the first implementation of an NLP task on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware and encodes word-meanings in quantum states and explicitly account for grammatical structure, which even in mainstream NLP is not commonplace, by faithfully hard-wiring it as entangling operations.
Abstract: Natural language processing (NLP) is at the forefront of great advances in contemporary AI, and it is arguably one of the most challenging areas of the field. At the same time, with the steady growth of quantum hardware and notable improvements towards implementations of quantum algorithms, we are approaching an era when quantum computers perform tasks that cannot be done on classical computers with a reasonable amount of resources. This provides a new range of opportunities for AI, and for NLP specifically. Earlier work has already demonstrated a potential quantum advantage for NLP in a number of manners: (i) algorithmic speedups for search-related or classification tasks, which are the most dominant tasks within NLP, (ii) exponentially large quantum state spaces allow for accommodating complex linguistic structures, (iii) novel models of meaning employing density matrices naturally model linguistic phenomena such as hyponymy and linguistic ambiguity, among others. In this work, we perform the first implementation of an NLP task on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware. Sentences are instantiated as parameterised quantum circuits. We encode word-meanings in quantum states and we explicitly account for grammatical structure, which even in mainstream NLP is not commonplace, by faithfully hard-wiring it as entangling operations. This makes our approach to quantum natural language processing (QNLP) particularly NISQ-friendly. Our novel QNLP model shows concrete promise for scalability as the quality of the quantum hardware improves in the near future.
21 citations
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01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: This chapter contains sections titled connectionist Representation and Tensor Product Binding: Definition and Examples, and tensor Product Representation: Properties.
Abstract: This chapter contains sections titled: 1 Introduction, 2 Connectionist Representation and Tensor Product Binding: Definition and Examples, 3 Tensor Product Representation: Properties, 4 Conclusion
515 citations
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TL;DR: The alternating-time temporal logic (ATL) as discussed by the authors is a more general variant of temporal logic that allows selective quantification over those paths that are possible outcomes of games, such as the game in which the system and the environment alternate moves.
442 citations
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407 citations
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: A1 Regular and Cartesian Closed Categories A2 Toposes - Basic Theory A3 Allegories A4 Geometric Morphisms - Basic theory B1 Fibrations and Indexed Categories B2 Internal and Locally Internal Categories B3 Toposes over a base B4 BTop/S as a 2-category as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A1 Regular and Cartesian Closed Categories A2 Toposes - Basic Theory A3 Allegories A4 Geometric Morphisms - Basic Theory B1 Fibrations and Indexed Categories B2 Internal and Locally Internal Categories B3 Toposes over a base B4 BTop/S as a 2-Category
346 citations