The prominence of Machine Learning (ML) systems led to the rise of Software Engineering for Artificial Intelligence (SE4AI), which addresses the unique engineering challenges of these systems. Researchers in SE4AI engage with three primary types of ML projects: those that apply ML techniques, those that develop new ML methodologies, and those that provide support tools and libraries. Current classification schemas distinguish ML projects based on their purpose and engineering quality, yet they miss a fine-grained classification of their nature and purpose. In this paper, we propose a novel, tool-supported automated classification schema for ML projects, coined M achine learning A utomated R ule-based Classification K it (MARK), that builds on top of the work by Gonzalez et al. to refine the classification of applied ML projects into ‘ML-Model Consumers,’ ‘ML-Model Producers,’ and ‘ML-Model Producers & Consumers.’ We evaluated MARK through two empirical studies. The first assessed its classification accuracy across 4,603 ML projects from two datasets. The second analyzed repository metrics, such as community engagement, activity, and structure, to demonstrate MARK’s potential in identifying trends and characteristics unique to each project type. Our findings indicate high F1-scores for our classifier, particularly for ‘ML-Model Producer’ projects, though challenges remain for ‘ML-Model Consumer’ classification. Significant differences in repository metrics among the classified projects highlight the usefulness of MARK, offering insights for researchers studying the socio-technical dynamics of ML projects.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing with a data-centered approach suitable for various domains. Nevertheless, AI faces significant challenges, particularly in data quality. Data collection from diverse sources can introduce quality issues that may threaten the development of AI-enabled systems. A growing concern in this context is the emergence of data smells - issues specific to the data used in building AI models, which can have long-term consequences. In this paper, we aim at enlarging the current body of knowledge on data smells, by proposing a two-step investigation into the matter. First, we updated an existing literature review in an effort of cataloguing the currently existing data smells and the tools to detect them. Afterward, we assess the prevalence of data smells and their correlation with data quality metrics. We identify a novel set composed of 12 data smells distributed across three additional categories. Secondly, we observe that the correlation between data smells and data quality is notably impactful, exhibiting a pronounced and substantial effect, especially in highly diffused data smell instances. This research sheds light on the complex relationship between data smells and data quality, providing valuable insights into the challenges of maintaining AI-enabled systems.

IoT devices generate and exchange large amounts of data daily, creating significant security and privacy challenges. Security testing, particularly using Machine Learning (ML), helps identify and classify potential malicious network traffic. Previous research has shown how ML can aid in designing security tests for IoT attacks. This ongoing paper introduces a search-based approach using Genetic Algorithms (GAs) to evolve detection rules and detect intrusion attacks. We build on existing GA methods for intrusion detection and compare them with leading ML models. We propose 17 detection rules and demonstrate that while GAs do not fully replace ML, they perform well with ample attack examples and enhance the usability and implementation of deterministic test cases by security testers.

QualAI is a two-year project aimed at defining a set of recommenders to continuously monitor, assess, and improve the quality of AI-based systems, with a particular focus on machine learning (ML) applications. We will develop recommenders for the quality assurance of both data and ML models to enable practitioners to mitigate technical debt. Special attention will be paid to communication challenges that may arise in hybrid teams comprising data scientists and software developers. This paper presents the project outline, provides an executive summary of the research activities, outlines the expected project outcomes, and reports the results obtained to date.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is pervasive in several application domains and promises to be even more diffused in the next decades. Developing high-quality AI-enabled systems — software systems embedding one or multiple AI components, algorithms, and models — could introduce critical challenges for mitigating specific risks related to the systems’ quality. Such development alone is insufficient to fully address socio-technical consequences and the need for rapid adaptation to evolutionary changes. Recent work proposed the concept of AI technical debt, a potential liability concerned with developing AI-enabled systems whose impact can affect the overall systems’ quality. While the problem of AI technical debt is rapidly gaining the attention of the software engineering research community, scientific knowledge that contributes to understanding and managing the matter is still limited. In this paper, we leverage the expertise of practitioners to offer useful insights to the research community, aiming to enhance researchers’ awareness about the detection and mitigation of AI technical debt. Our ultimate goal is to empower practitioners by providing them with tools and methods. Additionally, our study sheds light on novel aspects that practitioners might not be fully acquainted with, contributing to a deeper understanding of the subject. We develop a survey study featuring 53 AI practitioners, in which we collect information on the practical prevalence, severity, and impact of AI technical debt issues affecting the code and the architecture other than the strategies applied by practitioners to identify and mitigate them. The key findings of the study reveal the multiple impacts that AI technical debt issues may have on the quality of AI-enabled systems (e.g., the high negative impact that Undeclared consumers has on security, whereas Jumbled Model Architecture can induce the code to be hard to maintain) and the little support practitioners have to deal with them, limited to apply manual effort for identification and refactoring. We conclude the article by distilling lessons learned and actionable insights for researchers.

DevOps has become increasingly widespread, with companies employing its methods in different fields. In this context, MLOps automates Machine Learning pipelines by applying DevOps practices. Considering the high number of tools available and the high interest of the practitioners to be supported by tools to automate the steps of Machine Learning pipelines, little is known concerning MLOps tools and their functionalities. To this aim, we conducted a Multivocal Literature Review (MLR) to (i) extract tools that allow for and support the creation of MLOps pipelines and (ii) analyze their main characteristics and features to provide a comprehensive overview of their value. Overall, we investigate the functionalities of 13 MLOps Tools. Our results show that most MLOps Tools support the same features but apply different approaches that can bring different advantages, depending on user requirements.