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The problem of learning automata from example traces (but no equivalence or membership queries) is fundamental in automata learning theory and practice. In this paper, we study this problem for finite-state machines with inputs and outputs, and in particular for Moore machines. We develop three algorithms for solving this problem: (1) the PTAP algorithm, which transforms a set of input–output traces into an incomplete Moore machine and then completes the machine with self-loops; (2) the PRPNI algorithm, which uses the well-known RPNI algorithm for automata learning to learn a product of automata encoding a Moore machine; and (3) the MooreMI algorithm, which directly learns a Moore machine using PTAP extended with state merging. We prove that MooreMI has the fundamental identification in the limit property. We compare the algorithms experimentally in terms of the size of the learned machine and several notions of accuracy, introduced in this paper. We also carry out a performance comparison against two existing tools (LearnLib and flexfringe). Finally, we compare with OSTIA, an algorithm that learns a more general class of transducers and find that OSTIA generally does not learn a Moore machine, even when fed with a characteristic sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature selection is one of the main steps in preprocessing data in machine learning, and its goal is to reduce features by removing additional and noisy features. Feature selection methods and feature reduction in a dataset must consider the accuracy of the classifying algorithms. Meta-heuristic algorithms serve as the most successful and promising methods to solve this problem. Symbiotic Organisms Search (SOS) is one of the most successful meta-heuristic algorithms inspired by organisms' interaction in nature called mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. In this paper, three SOS-based binary approaches are offered to solve the feature selection problem. In the first and second approaches, several S-shaped transfer functions and several Chaotic Tent Function-based V-shaped transfer functions called BSOSST and BSOSVT are used to make the binary SOS (BSOS). In the third approach, an advanced BSOS based on changing SOS and the chaotic Tent function operators called EBCSOS is provided. The EBCSOS algorithm uses the chaotic Tent function and the Gaussian mutation to increase usefulness and exploration. Moreover, two new operators, i.e., BMPT and BCPT, are suggested to make the commensalism and mutualism stage binary based on a chaotic function to solve the feature selection problem. Finally, the proposed BSOSST and BSOSVT methods and the advanced version of EBCSOS were implemented on 25 datasets than the basic algorithm's binary meta-heuristic algorithms. Various experiments demonstrated that the proposed EBCSOS algorithm outperformed other methods in terms of several features and accuracy. To further confirm the proposed EBCSOS algorithm, the problem of detecting spam E-mails was applied, with the results of this experiment indicating that the proposed EBCSOS algorithm significantly improved the accuracy and speed of all categories in detecting spam E-mails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usefulness of machine learning algorithms has led to their widespread adoption prior to the development of a conceptual framework for making sense of them. One common response to this situation is to say that machine learning suffers from a "black box problem." That is, machine learning algorithms are "opaque" to human users, failing to be "interpretable" or "explicable" in terms that would render categorization procedures "understandable." The purpose of this paper is to challenge the widespread agreement about the existence and importance of a black box problem. The first section argues that "interpretability" and cognates lack precise meanings when applied to algorithms. This makes the concepts difficult to use when trying to solve the problems that have motivated the call for interpretability (etc.). Furthermore, since there is no adequate account of the concepts themselves, it is not possible to assess whether particular technical features supply formal definitions of those concepts. The second section argues that there are ways of being a responsible user of these algorithms that do not require interpretability (etc.). In many cases in which a black box problem is cited, interpretability is a means to a further end such as justification or non-discrimination. Since addressing these problems need not involve something that looks like an "interpretation" (etc.) of an algorithm, the focus on interpretability artificially constrains the solution space by characterizing one possible solution as the problem itself. Where possible, discussion should be reformulated in terms of the ends of interpretability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]