FLOC 2022: FEDERATED LOGIC CONFERENCE 2022
LICS ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 2ND
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08:30-09:00Coffee & Refreshments
09:00-10:30 Session 44F: Temporal and Data Logic, Linear Recurrences and Equation Systems

"Temporal and Data Logic, Linear Recurrences and Equation Systems": 6 papers (12 min presentation + 2-3 min Q&A)

Location: Taub 1
09:00
Temporal Team Semantics Revisited

ABSTRACT. In this paper, we study a novel approach to asynchronous hyperproperties by reconsidering the foundations of temporal team semantics. We consider three logics: TeamLTL, TeamCTL and TeamCTL*, which are obtained by adding quantification over so-called time evaluation functions controlling the asynchronous progress of traces. We then relate synchronous TeamLTL to our new logics and show how it can be embedded into them. We show that the model checking problem for existential TeamCTL with Boolean disjunctions is highly undecidable by encoding recurrent computations of non-deterministic 2-counter machines. Finally, we present a translation of TeamCTL* to Alternating Asynchronous Büchi Automata and obtain decidability results for the path checking problem as well as restricted variants of the model checking and satisfiability problems.

09:15
Deciding Hyperproperties Combined with Functional Specifications
PRESENTER: Jana Hofmann

ABSTRACT. We study satisfiability for HyperLTL with a ∀∗∃∗ quantifier prefix, known to be highly undecidable in general. HyperLTL can express system properties that relate multiple traces (so-called hyperproperties), which are often combined with trace properties that specify functional behavior on single traces. Following this conceptual split, we first define several safety and liveness fragments of ∀∗∃∗ HyperLTL, and characterize the complexity of their (often much easier) satisfiability problem. We then add LTL trace properties as functional specifications. Though (highly) undecidable in many cases, this way of combining “simple” HyperLTL and arbitrary LTL also leads to interesting new decidable fragments. This systematic study of ∀∗∃∗ fragments is complemented by a new algorithm for ∀∃ ∗ -HyperLTL satisfiability, which is incomplete but often successful.

09:30
Reasoning on Data Words over Numeric Domains

ABSTRACT. We introduce parametric semilinear data logic (pSDL) for reasoning about data words with numeric data. The logic allows parameters, and Presburger guards on the data and on the Parikh image of equivalence classes (i.e. data counting), allowing us to capture data languages like: (1) each data value occurs at most once in the word and is an even number, (2) the subset of the positions containing data values divisible by 4 has the same number of a's and b's, (3) the data value with the highest frequency in the word is divisible by 3, and (4) each data value occurs at most once, and the set of data values forms an interval. We provide decidability and complexity results for the problem of membership and satisfiability checking over these models. In contrast to two-variable logic of data words and data automata (which also permit a form of data counting but no arithmetics over numeric domains and have incomparable inexpressivity), pSDL has elementary complexity of satisfiability checking. We show interesting potential applications of our models in databases and verification.

09:45
Solvability of orbit-finite systems of linear equations
PRESENTER: Sławomir Lasota

ABSTRACT. We study orbit-finite systems of linear equations, in the setting of sets with atoms. Our principal contribution is a decision procedure for solvability of such systems. The procedure works for every field (and even commutative ring) under mild effectiveness assumptions, and reduces a given orbit-finite system to a number of finite ones: exponentially many in general, but polynomially many when atom dimension of input systems is fixed. Towards obtaining the procedure we push further the theory of vector spaces generated by orbit-finite sets, and show that each such vector space admits an orbit-finite basis. This fundamental property is a key tool in our development, but should be also of wider interest.

10:00
Computing the Density of the Positivity Set for Linear Recurrence Sequences

ABSTRACT. The set of indices that correspond to the positive entries of a sequence of numbers is called its positivity set. In this paper, we study the density of the positivity set of a given linear recurrence sequence, that is the question of how much more frequent are the positive entries compared to the non- positive ones. We show that one can compute this density to arbitrary precision, as well as decide whether it is equal to zero (or one). If the sequence is diagonalisable, we prove that its positivity set is finite if and only if its density is zero. Lastly, arithmetic properties of densities are treated, in particular we prove that it is decidable whether the density is a rational number, given that the recurrence sequence has at most one pair of dominant complex roots.

10:15
On the Skolem Problem and the Skolem Conjecture
PRESENTER: James Worrell

ABSTRACT. It is a longstanding open problem whether there is an algorithm to decide the Skolem Problem for linear recurrence sequences (LRS) over the integers, namely whether a given such sequence $\langle u_n\rangle_{n=0}^\infty$ has a zero term (i.e., whether $u_n=0$ for some $n$). A major breakthrough in the early 1980s established decidability for LRS of order four or less, i.e., for LRS in which every new term depends linearly on the previous four (or fewer) terms. The Skolem Problem for LRS of order $5$ or more, in particular, remains a major open challenge to this day.

Our main contributions in this paper are as follows:

First, we show that the Skolem Problem is decidable for \emph{reversible} LRS of order $7$ or less. (An integer LRS $\langle u_n \rangle_{n=0}^{\infty}$ is reversible if its unique extension to a bi-infinite LRS $\langle u_n \rangle_{n=-\infty}^{\infty}$ also takes exclusively integer values; a typical example is the classical Fibonacci sequence, whose bi-infinite extension is $\langle \ldots, 5, -3, 2 , -1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, \ldots \rangle$.)

Second, assuming the \emph{Skolem Conjecture} (a central hypothesis in Diophantine analysis, also known as the \emph{Exponential Local-Global Principle}), we show that the Skolem Problem for LRS of order $5$ is decidable, and exhibit a concrete procedure for solving it.

10:30-11:00Coffee Break
11:10-12:10 Session 48: Keynote
11:10
Information Structures for Privacy and Fairness

ABSTRACT. The increasingly pervasive use of big data and machine learning is raising various ethical issues, in particular privacy and fairness.In this talk, I will discuss some frameworks to understand and mitigate the issues, focusing on iterative methods coming from information theory and statistics.In the area of privacy protection, differential privacy (DP) and its variants are the most successful approaches to date. One of the fundamental issues of DP is how to reconcile the loss of information that it implies with the need to pr eserve the utility of the data. In this regard, a useful tool to recover utility is the Iterative Bayesian Update (IBU), an instance of the famous Expectation-Maximization method from Statistics. I will show that the IBU, combined with the metric version of DP, outperforms the state-of-the art, which is based on algebraic methods combined with the Randomized Response mechanism, widely adopted by the Big Tech industry (Google, Apple, Amazon, ...). Furthermore I will discuss a surprising duality between the IBU and one of the methods used to enhance metric DP, that is the Blahut-Arimoto algorithm from Rate-Distortion Theory. Finally, I will discuss the issue of biased decisions in machine learning, and will show that the IBU can be applied also in this domain to ensure a fairer treatment of disadvantaged groups.

Brief Bio:Catuscia Palamidessi is Director of Research at INRIA Saclay (since 2002), where she leads the team COMETE. She has been Full Professor at the University of Genova, Italy (1994-1997) and Penn State University, USA (1998-2002). Palamidessi's research interests include Privacy, Machine Learning, Fairness, Secure Information Flow, Formal Methods, and Concurrency. In 2019 she has obtained an ERC advanced grant to conduct research on Privacy and Machine Learning. She has been PC chair of various conferences including LICS and ICALP, and PC member of more than 120 international conferences. She is in the Editorial board of several journals, including the IEEE Transactions in Dependable and Secure Computing, Mathematical Structures in Computer Science, Theoretics, the Journal of Logical and Algebraic Methods in Programming and Acta Informatica. She is serving in the Executive Committee of ACM SIGLOG, CONCUR, and CSL.

http://www.lix.polytechnique.fr/~catuscia/

12:30-14:00Lunch Break

Lunch will be held in Taub lobby (CP, LICS, ICLP) and in The Grand Water Research Institute (KR, FSCD, SAT).

14:00-15:30 Session 50G: Lambda Calculus, Quantum Programming, Games in Category Theory

"Lambda Calculus, Quantum Programming, Games in Category Theory": 6 papers (12 min presentation + 2-3 min Q&A)

Location: Taub 1
14:00
Curry and Howard Meet Borel
PRESENTER: Paolo Pistone

ABSTRACT. We show that an intuitionistic variation on counting propositional logic corresponds, in the sense of Curry and Howard, to an expressive type system for the event probabilistic lambda-calculus, itself a vehicle calculus into which both call-by-name and call-by-value evaluation of discrete randomized functional programs can be captured. Remarkably, proofs (respectively, types) do not only guarantee that validity (respectively, termination) holds, but also reveal the underlying probability. We finally show that by endowing the introduced type system with an intersection operator, one gets a system precisely capturing the probabilistic behavior of lambda-terms.

14:15
Resource approximation for the lambda-mu-calculus

ABSTRACT. The lambda-mu-calculus plays a central role in the theory of programming languages as it extends the Curry-Howard correspondence to classical logic. A major drawback is that it does not satisfy Böhm's Theorem and it lacks the corresponding notion of approximation. On the contrary, we show that Ehrhard and Regnier's Taylor expansion can be easily adapted, thus providing a resource conscious approximation theory. This produces a sensible lambda-mu-theory with which we prove some advanced properties of the lambda-mu-calculus, such as Stability and Perpendicular Lines Property, from which it follows the impossibility of parallel computations.

14:30
PRESENTER: Chase Ford

ABSTRACT. The framework of graded semantics uses graded monads to capture behavioural equivalences of varying granularity, for example as found on the linear-time/branching-time spectrum, over general system types. We describe a generic Spoiler-Duplicator game for graded semantics that is extracted from the given graded monad, and may be seen as playing out an equational proof; instances include standard pebble games for simulation and bisimulation as well as games for trace-like equivalences and coalgebraic behavioural equivalence. Considerations on an infinite variant of such games lead to a novel notion of infinite-depth graded semantics. Under reasonable restrictions, the infinite-depth graded semantics associated to a given graded equivalence can be characterized in terms of a determinization construction for coalgebras under the equivalence at hand.

14:45
The Pebble-Relation Comonad in Finite Model Theory
PRESENTER: Yoàv Montacute

ABSTRACT. The pebbling comonad, introduced by Abramsky, Dawar and Wang, provides a categorical interpretation for the k-pebble games from finite model theory. The coKleisli category of the pebbling comonad specifies equivalences under different fragments and extensions of infinitary k-variable logic. Moreover, the coalgebras over this pebbling comonad characterise treewidth and correspond to tree decompositions. In this paper we introduce the pebble-relation comonad, which characterises pathwidth and whose coalgebras correspond to path decompositions. We further show that the existence of a coKleisli morphism in this comonad is equivalent to truth preservation in the restricted conjunction fragment of k-variable infinitary logic. We do this using Dalmau's pebble-relation game and an equivalent all-in-one pebble game. We then provide a similar treatment to the corresponding coKleisli isomorphisms via a bijective version of the all-in-one pebble game with a hidden pebble placement. Finally, we show as a consequence a new Lovász-type theorem relating pathwidth to the restricted conjunction fragment of k-variable infinitary logic with counting quantifiers.

15:00
Quantum Expectation Transformers for Cost Analysis

ABSTRACT. We introduce a new kind of expectation transformer for a mixed classical-quantum programming language. Our semantic approach relies on a new notion of a cost structure, which we introduce and which can be seen as a specialisation of the Kegelspitzen of Keimel and Plotkin. We show that our weakest precondition analysis is both sound and adequate with respect to the operational semantics of the language. Using the induced expectation transformer, we provide formal analysis methods for the expected cost analysis and expected value analysis of classical-quantum programs. We illustrate the usefulness of our techniques by computing the expected cost of several well-known quantum algorithms and protocols, such as coin tossing, repeat until success, entangled state preparation, and quantum walks.

15:15
Quantum Weakest Preconditions for Reasoning about Expected Runtimes of Quantum Programs
PRESENTER: Junyi Liu

ABSTRACT. We study expected runtimes for quantum programs.Inspired by recent work on probabilistic programs, we first define expected runtime as a generalisation of quantum weakest precondition. Then, we show that the expected runtime of a quantum program can be represented as the expectation of an observable (in physics). A method for computing the expected runtimes of quantum programs in finite-dimensional state spaces is developed. Several examples are provided as applications of this method, including computing the expected runtime of quantum Bernoulli Factory -- a quantum algorithm for generating random numbers. In particular, using our new method, an open problem of computing the expected runtime of quantum random walks introduced by Ambainis et al. (STOC 2001) is solved.

15:30-16:00Coffee Break
16:00-17:30 Session 54G: Type and Category Theory

"Type and Category Theory": 6 papers (12 min presentation + 2-3 min Q&A)

Chair:
Location: Taub 1
16:00
Semantics for two-dimensional type theory
PRESENTER: Benedikt Ahrens

ABSTRACT. In this work, we propose a general notion of model for two-dimensional type theory, in the form of comprehension bicategories. Examples of comprehension bicategories are plentiful; they include interpretations of directed type theory previ- ously studied in the literature. From comprehension bicategories, we extract a core syntax, that is, judgement forms and structural inference rules, for a two-dimensional type theory. We prove soundness of the rules by giving an interpretation in any comprehension bicategory. The semantic aspects of our work are fully checked in the Coq proof assistant, based on the UniMath library. This work is the first step towards a theory of syntax and semantics for higher-dimensional directed type theory.

16:15
Normalization for Multimodal Type Theory

ABSTRACT. We prove normalization for MTT, a general multimodal dependent type theory capable of expressing modal type theories for guarded recursion, internalized parametricity, and various other prototypical modal situations. We prove that deciding type checking and conversion in MTT can be reduced to deciding the equality of modalities in the underlying modal situation, immediately yielding a type checking algorithm for all instantiations of MTT in the literature. This proof follows from a generalization of synthetic Tait computability—an abstract approach to gluing proofs—to account for modalities. This extension is based on MTT itself, so that this proof also constitutes a significant case study of MTT.

16:30
Zigzag normalisation for associative n-categories
PRESENTER: Lukas Heidemann

ABSTRACT. The theory of associative n-categories has recently been proposed as a strictly associative and unital approach to higher category theory. As a foundation for a proof assistant, this is potentially attractive, since it has the potential to allow simple formal proofs of complex high-dimensional algebraic phenomena. However, the theory relies on an implicit term normalisation procedure to recognize correct composites, with no recursive method available for computing it.

Here we describe a new approach to term normalisation in associative n-categories, based on the categorical zigzag construction. This radically simplifies the theory, and yields a recursive algorithm for normalisation, which we prove is correct. Our use of categorical lifting properties allows us to give efficient proofs of our results. Our normalisation algorithm forms a core component of a proof assistant, and we illustrate our scheme with worked examples.

16:45
Syllepsis in Homotopy Type Theory
PRESENTER: G. A. Kavvos

ABSTRACT. The Eckmann-Hilton argument shows that any two monoid structures on the same set satisfying the interchange law are in fact the same operation, which is moreover commutative. When the monoids correspond to the vertical and horizontal composition of a sufficiently higher-dimensional category, the Eckmann-Hilton argument itself appears as a higher cell. This cell is often required to satisfy an additional piece of coherence, which is known as the syllepsis. We show that the syllepsis can be constructed from the elimination rule of intensional identity types in Martin-Loef type theory.

17:00
Greatest HITs: Higher inductive types in coinductive definitions via induction under clocks

ABSTRACT. We present Clocked Cubical Type Theory, the first type theory combining multi-clocked guarded recursion with the features of Cubical Type Theory. Guarded recursion is an abstract form of step-indexing, which can be used for construction of advanced programming language models. In its multi-clocked version, it can also be used for coinductive programming and reasoning, encoding productivity in types. Combining this with Higher Inductive Types (HITs) this extends to coinductive types that are traditionally hard to represent in type theory, such as the type of finitely branching labelled transition systems.

Among our technical contributions is a new principle of induction under clocks, providing computational contents to one of the main axioms required for encoding coinductive types. This principle is verified using a denotational semantics in a presheaf model.

17:15
A Type Theory for Strictly Unital Infinity-Categories
PRESENTER: Alex Rice

ABSTRACT. We use type-theoretic techniques to present an algebraic theory of oo-categories with strict units. Starting with a known type-theoretic presentation of fully weak oo-categories, in which terms denote valid operations, we extend the theory with a non-trivial definitional equality. This forces some operations to coincide strictly in any model, yielding the strict unit behaviour.

We make a detailed investigation of the meta-theoretic properties of this theory. We give a reduction relation that generates definitional equality, and prove that it is confluent and terminating, thus yielding the first decision procedure for equality in a strictly-unital setting. Moreover, we show that our definitional equality relation identifies all terms in a disc context, providing a point comparison with a previously proposed definition of strictly unital oo-category. We also prove a conservativity result, showing that every operation of the strictly unital theory indeed arises from a valid operation in the fully weak theory. From this, we infer that strict unitality is a property of an oo-category rather than additional structure.

17:30-18:30 Session 55: Logic Lounge
17:30
Thinking Fast and Slow in AI

ABSTRACT. Current AI systems lack several important human capabilities, such as adaptability, generalizability, self-control, consistency, common sense, and causal reasoning. We believe that existing cognitive theories of human decision making, such as the thinking fast and slow theory, can provide insights on how to advance AI systems towards some of these capabilities. In this talk, I will present the work done by IBM and collaborators in this space, including the definition of a general architecture that is based on fast/slow solvers and a metacognitive component. I will then present experimental results on the behavior of an instance of this architecture, for AI systems that make decisions about navigating in a constrained environment. The results will show how combining the fast and slow decision modalities allows the system to evolve over time and gradually pass from slow to fast thinking with enough experience, and that this greatly helps in decision quality, resource consumption, and efficiency.

Bio:

Francesca Rossi is an IBM Fellow and the IBM AI Ethics Global Leader. She is a computer scientist with over 30 years of experience in AI research. Before joining IBM, she has been a professor of computer science at the University of Padova, Italy, for 20 years. Her research interests focus on artificial intelligence, specifically they include constraint reasoning, preferences, multi-agent systems, computational social choice, and collective decision making. She is also interested in ethical issues in the development and behavior of AI systems, in particular for decision support systems for group decision making. She is a fellow of both AAAI and of EurAI and she has been president of IJCAI and the Editor in Chief of the Journal of AI Research. She will be the next president of AAAI. She co-leads the IBM AI ethics board and she actively participate in many global multi-stakeholder initiatives on AI ethics. She is a member of the board of directors of the Partnership on AI and the industry representative in the steering committee of the Global Partnership on AI. She is a fellow of both the worldwide association of AI (AAAI) and of the European one (EurAI), and she will be the next president of AAAI from July 2022.