SEEC: Semantic Vector Federation across Edge Computing Environments

TL;DR

SEEC introduces unsupervised algorithms for semantic vector embedding across distributed edge environments, enabling privacy-preserving joint learning and cross-location semantic queries, demonstrated on language and graph datasets.

Contribution

The paper presents novel unsupervised algorithms for semantic vector embedding in distributed edge settings, including federated learning adaptations and semantic translation methods.

Findings

Federated learning improves semantic embedding accuracy across edge sites.

Semantic translation enables cross-location queries without data sharing.

Experimental results show promising performance on language and graph datasets.

Abstract

Semantic vector embedding techniques have proven useful in learning semantic representations of data across multiple domains. A key application enabled by such techniques is the ability to measure semantic similarity between given data samples and find data most similar to a given sample. State-of-the-art embedding approaches assume all data is available on a single site. However, in many business settings, data is distributed across multiple edge locations and cannot be aggregated due to a variety of constraints. Hence, the applicability of state-of-the-art embedding approaches is limited to freely shared datasets, leaving out applications with sensitive or mission-critical data. This paper addresses this gap by proposing novel unsupervised algorithms called \emph{SEEC} for learning and applying semantic vector embedding in a variety of distributed settings. Specifically, for scenarios where multiple edge locations can engage in joint learning, we adapt the recently proposed federated learning techniques for semantic vector embedding. Where joint learning is not possible, we propose novel semantic vector translation algorithms to enable semantic query across multiple edge locations, each with its own semantic vector-space. Experimental results on natural language as well as graph datasets show that this may be a promising new direction.