Events

June 02, 2023

THESIS DEFENSE - A Universal Tensor Abstraction and its Application to and Implementation within Block-Based Compression

Jessica Ray

MIT-CSAIL

2:00P

- 3:00P

Location

32-D463 Star & Zoom: https://mit.zoom.us/j/98499956238

Star Conference Room

Add to Calendar 2023-06-02 14:00:00 2023-06-02 15:00:00 America/New_York THESIS DEFENSE - A Universal Tensor Abstraction and its Application to and Implementation within Block-Based Compression 

Abstract: 

Data with spatial relationships are often represented in modern programs using multidimensional arrays or other tensor structures along with the associated metadata necessary to track the location of each piece of data. For example, a program can represent a video as a multidimensional array and a frame within the video as another multidimensional array along with a timestamp that gives the location relative to the start of the video. Current programs cannot natively associate this location-based metadata with the arrays, causing the burden of tracking location to fall on the user. It quickly becomes an arduous task within domains that have numerous arrays with spatial relationships spread across them. The task becomes further complicated when domains have multiple ways to represent the data, such as using projections, permutations, refinement, and coarsening. One such domain, block-based compression, has this type of heterogeneous, spatial data all throughout it, leading to overly complex implementations. 

Block-based compression forms the core of many common image and video standards such as JPEG, H.264, H.265, and H.266. The fundamental data unit in block-based compression, the block, represents everything from a video down to an individual pixel, all of which need to maintain their location relative to other blocks in a program. Due to the lack of support for this spatial data, each implementation largely starts from scratch, leading to inconsistencies in data representation and data access. 

This talk provides a critical look at the association between location and tensors and defines a core abstraction called the Universal Tensor abstraction (UniTe). UniTe mathematically describes what it means to associate tensors with location and quantify spatial relationships across multiple tensors in a single program. 

While UniTe itself is not tied to a particular domain, this talk also provides a practical look at implementing UniTe in the context of block-based compression. An initial library implementation highlights the overhead incurred from UniTe due to computing spatial relationships and underlying array indices at the innermost level of computations. 

To combat this overhead, this talk also introduces two different domain-specific languages and accompanying compilers built on UniTe, called CoLa (Compression Language) and SHiM (Staged Hierarchical Multidimensional arrays). CoLa and SHiM show that it is possible to remove the overhead and achieve performance parity with hand-implemented C code, while also providing users with an intuitive way to represent and utilize spatial data. 
Commitee: Saman Amarasinghe, Albert Reuther, Vivienne Sze 32-D463 Star & Zoom: https://mit.zoom.us/j/98499956238

June 07, 2023

Securing global DNA synthesis without disclosing information hazards

6:30P

- 8:00P

Location

32-G449 and online

Add to Calendar 2023-06-07 18:30:00 2023-06-07 20:00:00 America/New_York Securing global DNA synthesis without disclosing information hazards Boston and Northern Virginia/Washington Chapters of IEEE Computer Society, Northern Virginia/Washington/Baltimore Chapter of IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology, and GBC/ACM6:30 PM, Wednesday, 7 June 2023MIT Room 32-G449 (Kiva) and online via ZoomSecuring global DNA synthesis without disclosing information hazardsKevin EsveltPlease register in advance for this seminar even if you plan to attend in person at https://acm-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/4316829919029/WN_5PoH3WWnRgSS6cImHyr6yQAfter registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.Indicate on the registration form if you plan to attend in person. This will help us determine whether the room is close to reaching capacity.We may make some auxiliary material such as slides and access to the recording available after the seminar to people who have registered.Abstract:Printing custom DNA sequences is essential to scientific and biomedical research, but the technology can be used to build plagues as well as cures. Just as ink printers recognize and reject attempts to counterfeit money, DNA synthesizers and assemblers should deny requests to make viral DNA that could be used to ignite another pandemic. There are three complications. First, we don't need to update printers to deal with newly discovered currencies, whereas we’ll constantly learn of new viruses and other biological threats. Second, anti-counterfeiting specifications on a local printer can’t be extracted and used to help terrorists – unlike DNA blueprints for hazards. Third, a list of all the DNA orders placed by a biotech company could paint a detailed portrait of its R&D program, so any screening system must protect the privacy of each customer’s orders as reliably as their banks safeguards their finances. Cryptography, the foundation of modern computer security, can do the same for synthesis screening. We will discuss SecureDNA, an internationally developed and fully automated system capable of securely screening all DNA synthesis that will be made freely available by the end of 2023.Bio:Kevin Esvelt is Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, NEC Career Development Professor of Computer and Communications and director of the Sculpting Evolution group at the MIT Media Lab. His group invents new ways to study and influence the evolution of ecosystems.He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University for inventing a synthetic microbial ecosystem to rapidly evolve useful biomolecules, and subsequently helped pioneer the development of CRISPR, a powerful new method of genome engineering.In 2013, Esvelt was the first to identify the potential for CRISPR “gene drive” systems to alter wild populations of organisms. Recognizing the implications of an advance that could enable individual scientists to alter the shared environment, he and his colleagues chose to break with scientific tradition by revealing their findings and calling for open discussion and safeguards before building the first CRISPR-based gene drive system and demonstrating reversibility in the laboratory.An outspoken advocate of sharing research plans to accelerate discovery and improve safety, Esvelt's MIT lab seeks to accelerate beneficial advances while safeguarding biotechnology against mistrust and misuse. Projects include building catalytic platforms for directed evolution, pioneering new ways of developing ecotechnologies with the guidance of local communities, developing early-warning systems to reliably detect any catastrophic biological threat, applying cryptographic methods to enable secure and universal DNA synthesis screening, and advising policymakers on how best to mitigate global catastrophic biorisks.His work has been published in Nature and Science, covered by the New York Times and Washington Post, and featured on Last Week Tonight and the Netflix special Unnatural Selection.This joint meeting of the Boston Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society and GBC/ACM will be hybrid (in person and online), part of getting back to normal after the COVID-19 lockdown.Up-to-date information about this and other talks is available online at https://ewh.ieee.org/r1/boston/computer/. You can sign up to receive updated status information about this talk and informational emails about future talks at https://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/ieee-cs, our self-administered mailing list.

June 24, 2023

CHIL Unconference Discussion Room1

Marzyeh Ghassemi

CSAIL MIT

8:00A

- 5:00P

Location

Seminar Room D463 (Star), Seminar Room G449 (Patil/Kiva)

Add to Calendar 2023-06-24 8:00:00 2023-06-24 17:00:00 America/New_York CHIL Unconference Discussion Room1 Seminar Room D463 (Star)</a>, <a href="https://calendar.csail.mit.edu/seminar_rooms/32-G449">Seminar Room G449 (Patil/Kiva)