Data Science In Olfaction

Advances in neural sensing technology are making it possible to observe the olfactory process in great detail. In this paper, we conceptualize smell from a Data Science and AI perspective, that relates the properties of odorants to how they are sensed and analyzed in the olfactory system from the nose to the brain. Drawing distinctions to color vision, we argue that smell presents unique measurement challenges, including the complexity of stimuli, the high dimensionality of the sensory apparatus, as well as what constitutes ground truth. In the face of these challenges, we argue for the centrality of odorant-receptor interactions in developing a theory of olfaction. Such a theory is likely to find widespread industrial applications, and enhance our understanding of smell, and in the longer-term, how it relates to other senses and language. As an initial use case of the data, we present results using machine learning-based classification of neural responses to odors as they are recorded in the mouse olfactory bulb with calcium imaging.

The Paradigm Shifts in Artificial Intelligence

Kuhn's framework of scientific progress (Kuhn, 1962) provides a useful framing of the paradigm shifts that have occurred in Artificial Intelligence over the last 60 years. The framework is also useful in understanding what is arguably a new paradigm shift in AI, signaled by the emergence of large pre-trained systems such as GPT-3, on which conversational agents such as ChatGPT are based. Such systems make intelligence a commoditized general purpose technology that is configurable to applications. In this paper, I summarize the forces that led to the rise and fall of each paradigm, and discuss the pressing issues and risks associated with the current paradigm shift in AI.