Spring 2021 - MS CMPE272 Team Project Ideas

While COVID taught us a great deal of resilience, patience, empathy and generosity, it also gave us opportunity to think hard and introspect. What's important in our lives. How do we use our technical skills and everything else to solve problems with greater good. 

Data sources: https://usafacts.org/data/

My Grad students always do projects using cool modern technology such as AI and Machine Learning. Past projects are available here:

Spring 2017: https://github.com/SJSU272LabS17

Fall 2017: https://github.com/SJSU272LabF17

Spring 2018: https://github.com/SJSU272LabSP18

Fall 2018: https://github.com/SJSU272LabF18

Spring 2019: https://github.com/SJSU272Spring2019

Fall 2019: https://github.com/SJSUFall2019-CMPE272

Spring 2020: https://github.com/SJSUSpring2020-cmpe272

This semester, they will do even better. Here are some ideas I am sharing with them:

Category: AI in Software Development

Idea#1: Apply ML into Fuzzing to improve software reliability

Use ML to avoid testing every possible input by training on "interesting inputs" making testcases to find more suspect outputs. Read more about Fuzzing here

This area of research is also called as "Big Code" see DARPA announcement 

JSNice is another good implementation of Statistical renaming, type inference and deobfuscation technique on Javascript code. 

Idea#2: New implementation of the Probabilistic programming 

Probabilistic programming or (PPL) is a tool for statistical modeling. The idea is to borrow lessons from the world of programming languages and apply them to the problems of designing and using statistical models. Learn more here. Also see a WebPPL interactive  implementation here. 

Idea#3: Use AI to measure and improve Microservice performance

Microservices architecture is common ways to deploy containerized software in the cloud. However, increasing number of microservices increases management complexity due to distributed architecture. Network latency and load balancing are other challenges. See this use case for inspiration. 

Category: Data Privacy & Governance

Idea#4: Data Privacy in the Decentralized AI architecture

Whether its a race to get COVID vaccine developed or race to open businesses safely, its all about data sharing between government and private entities without compromising privacy of our citizen. There are technologies such as Secured Multi-party computation (sMPC), differential privacy and other  techniques that enable privacy preserved data sharing. Take an example of various shopping Malls in a city sharing data while not disclosing any competitive information. A centralized analysis of federated data will allow decision makers to take safety measures, yet facilitating shopping experience. 

Idea#5: Create domain specific business glossary using NLP

Vertical taxonomies such as an e-commerce taxonomy for retailer, telecom taxonomy for Telecom. Businesses will be able to bring their domain specific private documents and the NLP based AI system will create a well formed taxonomies ingestible into a common catalog such as Google data catalog or Alation Business Glossary

Category: Social Good

Idea#6: Lucy keeps our seniors happy and engaged

#1 problems our seniors (over 80) face today is loneliness and isolation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 11 million, or 28% of people aged 65 and older, lived alone at the time of the census. As people get older, their likelihood of living alone only increases. Additionally, more and more older adults do not have children, reports the AARP, and that means fewer family members to provide company and care as those adults become seniors.
1. Senior isolation increases the risk of mortality.
2. Feelings of loneliness can negatively affect both physical and mental health.
3. Perceived loneliness contributes to cognitive decline and risk of dementia.
4. Social isolation makes seniors more vulnerable to elder abuse.
5. Loneliness in seniors is a major risk factor for depression.

6. Socially isolated seniors are more pessimistic about the future.

Lucy is a skill developed for Amazon Alexa device echo dot which sits in senior’s room.

A group of student volunteers write personal emails to our seniors . Lucy reads those emails to seniors as they come or at certain time.

Idea#7: Get inspiration from DataKind Projects

https://www.datakind.org/projects

Idea#8: Using Divrsitykids datasets, create a dashboard and use NLG to generate a citizen friendly report

Datasets: https://data.diversitydatakids.org/dataset

Idea#8: Using Divrsitykids datasets, create a dashboard and use NLG to generate a citizen friendly report

Datasets: https://data.diversitydatakids.org/dataset

NLG: https://rosaenlg.org/rosaenlg/1.10.1/index.html

Idea#9: Street vendors support network

Bringing street vendors in an organized group has several advantages:

• Vendors will get much needed financial help and support to bootstrap their business. 
• Govt will have much desired success in getting them on epayments and cashless economy.
• this network will be able to uplift them and help them move into high value quadrant. For example, a street food hawker graduates to become a food truck owner. A vegetable seller eventually becomes a “Fresh cut vegies” supplier to apartments. 
• This network can be connected to micro lenders and other entrepreneurs such as organic farmers.

Category: Cyber Security

Idea#10: Zero Trust security 

• Zero trust vs “trust and verify”
• Hyperlocalization in business will drive next gen endpoint security for data and application access
• Borderless security practices for multi-national companies and workforce
• Remote Work-employee experience

Category: Immigration

Idea#11: Look at the questions to ask and available data sets here ( https://usafacts.org/issues/immigration/ ) and create a dashboard for legal immigrants that can help answer questions such as: 

what are the chances of a H1B visa being denied?

What will be the impact on a certain industry if H1B Visa is eliminated?

What will be the benefit to US economy if US implements time bond citizenship for immigrant workers? 

Category: Crime & Justice

Idea#12 Look at available data sets and create a dashboard for US taxpayers which can answer important questions such as:

• whats the burden on tax payers for prisoners in private prison vs state prison?
• impact of pending court cases on economy and taxpayers?, correlation with specific types of crime?
• correlation between certain types of firearms and crime?

Datasets: https://usafacts.org/data/topics/security-safety/crime-and-justice/

Idea#13: Justice on wheels

Access to Legal services in India is very limited, especially in rural areas. In many cases, long running justice process and expensive legal help deter people even to seek justice. A Justice on wheels app(with lawyers network) that provides mobile (at your doorstep ) service for:

• Affidavit and stamp papers related work
• Will and trust
• Legal rights education 
• Consumer protection related services and others

This “On wheels” idea can be applied to Tutoring, Books and stationary selling.

“Accounting on wheels” can be another opportunity as there are tons of BCOM boys and girls in India looking for work. The company will train them on business and financial accounting

More coming..