Key Concepts in AI Safety: Specification in Machine Learning

This paper is the fourth installment in a series on “AI safety,” an area of machine learning research that aims to identify causes of unintended behavior in machine learning systems and develop tools to ensure these systems work safely and reliably. The first paper in the series, “Key Concepts in AI Safety: An Overview,” outlined three categories of AI safety issues—problems of robustness, assurance, and specification—and the subsequent two papers described problems of robustness and assurance, respectively. This paper introduces specification as a key element in designing modern machine learning systems that operate as intended.

Safety Assessment of Long Term Serviced Pressure Vessels: A Case Study of Typical Refining and Chemical Plants in China

The safety and risk of the long term serviced pressure vessels, especially which serviced more than 20 years, has become one of the most concerned issues in refining and chemical industry and government safety supervision in China. According to the Chinese pressure vessel safety specification TSG 21-2016 “Supervision Regulation on Safety Technology for Stationary Pressure Vessel”, if necessary, safety assessment should be performed for the pressure vessel which reaches the design service life or exceeds 20 years without a definite design life. However, the safety and risk conditions of most pressure vessels have little changes after long term serviced because their failure modes are time-independent. Thus the key problem is to identify the devices with the time-dependent failure modes and assess them based on the failure modes. This study provided a case study on 16 typical refining and chemical plants including 1870 pressure vessels serviced more than 20 years. The quantitative risk and damage mechanisms were calculated based on API 581, the time-dependent and time-independent failure modes were identified, and the typical pressure vessels were assessed based on API 579. Taking the high pressure hydrogenation plant as an example, this study gave the detailed assessment results and conclusions. The results and suggestions in this study are essential for the safety supervision and extending life of long term serviced pressure vessels in China.

Drug Safety in Translational Paediatric Research: Practical Points to Consider for Paediatric Safety Profiling and Protocol Development: A Scoping Review

Translational paediatric drug development includes the exchange between basic, clinical and population-based research to improve the health of children. This includes the assessment of treatment related risks and their management. The objectives of this scoping review were to search and summarise the literature for practical guidance on how to establish a paediatric safety specification and its integration into a paediatric protocol. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and websites of regulatory authorities and learned societies were searched (up to 31 December 2020). Retrieved citations were screened and full texts reviewed where applicable. A total of 3480 publications were retrieved. No article was identified providing practical guidance. An introduction to the practical aspects of paediatric safety profiling and protocol development is provided by combining health authority and learned society guidelines with the specifics of paediatric research. The paediatric safety specification informs paediatric protocol development by, for example, highlighting the need for a pharmacokinetic study prior to a paediatric trial. It also informs safety related protocol sections such as exclusion criteria, safety monitoring and risk management. In conclusion, safety related protocol sections require an understanding of the paediatric safety specification. Safety data from carefully planned paediatric research provide valuable information for children, parents and healthcare providers.