STATISTICS Industry Seminar: Andreas Dahlström

Topic Editable & Explainable Embeddings: Sliding Search, Taste-Vectors, and Early Semantic Arithmetic

Abstract Thalius is a deep-tech AI startup building methods for editable and explainable embeddings. In this session, we will demo a new interaction paradigm for semantic retrieval: sliding search, where users move gradually through an embedding space between arbitrary concepts instead of issuing discrete queries. We’ll show how this enables controllable product discovery and matching via learned “tastes” (preference vectors) that can be combined and tuned. Finally, I’ll share early results on semantic arithmetic: constructing, applying, and validating transformation directions to add, remove, or replace attributes in embeddings in a more predictable way. The goal is practical: make embedding systems that are not just accurate, but steerable, inspectable, and easier to debug.