ATMSeer
To relieve the pain of manually selecting machine learning algorithms and tuning hyperparameters, automated machine learning (AutoML) methods have been developed to automatically search for good models. Due to the huge model search space, it is impossible to try all models. Users tend to distrust automatic results and increase the search budget as much as they can, thereby undermining the efficiency of AutoML. To address these issues, we design and implement ATMSeer, an interactive visualization tool that supports users in refining the search space of AutoML and analyzing the results. To guide the design of ATMSeer, we derive a workflow of using AutoML based on interviews with machine learning experts. A multi-granularity visualization is proposed to enable users to monitor the AutoML process, analyze the searched models, and refine the search space in real time. We demonstrate the utility and usability of ATMSeer through two case studies, expert interviews, and a user study with 13 end users. …

semi-MapReduce
Graph problems are troublesome when it comes to MapReduce. Typically, to be able to design algorithms that make use of the advantages of MapReduce, assumptions beyond what the model imposes, such as the {\em density} of the input graph, are required. In a recent shift, a simple and robust model of MapReduce for graph problems, where the space per machine is set to be $O(|V|)$ has attracted considerable attention. We term this model {\em semi-MapReduce}, or in short, semi-MPC, and focus on its computational power. In this short note, we show through a set of simulation methods that semi-MPC is, perhaps surprisingly, almost equivalent to the congested clique model of distributed computing. However, semi-MPC, in addition to round complexity, incorporates another practically important dimension to optimize: the number of machines. Furthermore, we show that algorithms in other distributed computing models, such as CONGEST, can be simulated to run in the same number of rounds of semiMPC while also using an optimal number of machines. We later show the implications of these simulation methods by obtaining improved algorithms for these models using the recent algorithms that have been developed. …