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NL-Augmenter: A Framework for Task-Sensitive Natural Language Augmentation (2112.02721v2)

Published 6 Dec 2021 in cs.CL, cs.AI, and cs.LG

Abstract: Data augmentation is an important component in the robustness evaluation of models in NLP and in enhancing the diversity of the data they are trained on. In this paper, we present NL-Augmenter, a new participatory Python-based natural language augmentation framework which supports the creation of both transformations (modifications to the data) and filters (data splits according to specific features). We describe the framework and an initial set of 117 transformations and 23 filters for a variety of natural language tasks. We demonstrate the efficacy of NL-Augmenter by using several of its transformations to analyze the robustness of popular natural LLMs. The infrastructure, datacards and robustness analysis results are available publicly on the NL-Augmenter repository (https://github.com/GEM-benchmark/NL-Augmenter).

Citations (85)

Summary

  • The paper demonstrates that NL-Augmenter effectively segments datasets using specialized linguistic and encoding filters to enhance model evaluation.
  • The paper introduces bias and fairness filters that identify gender, group inequity, and other societal biases, contributing to more equitable AI assessments.
  • The framework also leverages structural and advanced phenomena filters, such as oscillatory hallucination and toxicity detectors, to improve data robustness.

Overview of NL-Augmenter Filters

The paper presents a collection of filters submitted to NL-Augmenter, designed for refining datasets by producing subpopulations based on specific features. Filters enable researchers to evaluate models on distinct data characteristics such as input complexity, linguistic variety, and encoded attributes. Each filter produces a boolean value indicating whether a given input meets the filter's criterion, thus allowing for targeted analysis of model performance.

Detailed Examination of Filters

The filters encompass various aspects of text data, from linguistic features to bias detection:

  1. Linguistic and Encoding Filters:
    • Code-Mixing Filter: Detects instances of code-mixed languages within text inputs, useful for multilingual performance evaluations.
    • Diacritics and Encoding Filters: Identify texts containing diacritics or non-ASCII characters, crucial for assessing model robustness across diverse character sets.
    • Englishness Filter: Recognizes British-specific spellings and vocabulary, facilitating studies on dialectical variations in text processing.
  2. Bias and Fairness Filters:
    • Gender Bias and Group Inequity Filters: These filters assess gender representation and potential group inequities in texts, enabling fairness analysis.
    • Universal Bias Filter: Extends bias detection to various categories such as religion, ethnicity, and economic status, promoting comprehensive fairness evaluation.
  3. Textual Attributes Filters:
    • Polarity and Repetitions Filters: Focus on sentiment consistency and linguistic repetitiveness, offering insights into data augmentation and LLMing challenges.
    • Named Entity and Keyword Filters: Filter texts based on named entity presence and predefined keywords, aiding domain-specific dataset creation.
  4. Structural and Quantitative Filters:
    • Length and Numeric Filters: Facilitate dataset partitioning by text length and numeric content, allowing fine-grained analysis by input complexity.
    • Question and Yes/No Filters: These filters categorize and extract specific types of questions, valuable for tailored question-answering system development.
  5. Advanced Phenomena Filters:
    • Oscillatory Hallucination Filter: Targets generation models' oscillatory hallucinations, addressing artifacts that arise from training data noise.
    • Toxicity Filter: Leverages pre-trained detectors to filter toxic content, aligning datasets with ethical AI practices.

Implications and Future Developments

This comprehensive suite of filters provides significant utility for dataset customization, enabling experiments that can lead to improved generalization and fairness in models. By revealing specific challenges and biases in textual data, these tools can guide researchers toward more nuanced and thorough model evaluations.

Future advancements may involve enhancing the language coverage of bias detection filters and refining linguistic complexity assessments. Additionally, as these filters are integrated into broader data augmentation and evaluation frameworks, they may serve as foundational elements for developing more equitable and robust AI systems.

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