Distinguished Speaker Series

Postponed to a later date (to be assessed) More info coming soon!  

Abstract: Humans spend a lifetime learning, storing and refining a repertoire of motor memories. However, it is unknown what principle underlies the way our continuous stream of sensorimotor experience is segmented into separate memories and how we adapt and use this growing repertoire. Here we develop a principled theory of motor learning based on the

Abstract: Learning is a central concept in many scientific disciplines. Communication about research on learning is, however, hampered by the fact that different researchers define learning in different ways. In this talk, we introduce the extended functional definition of learning that can be used across scientific disciplines. We provide examples of how the definition can

Abstract: We can view cortex from two fundamentally different perspectives: a powerful device for performing optimal inference, or an assembly of biological components not built for achieving statistical optimality. The former approach is attractive thanks to its elegance and potentially wide applicability, however the basic facts of human pattern vision do not support it. Instead,

Abstract: Unsupervised learning is experiencing a renaissance. Driven by an abundance of unlabelled data and the advent of deep generative models, machines are now able to synthesise complex images, videos and sounds. In robotics, one of the most promising features of these models - the ability to learn structured latent spaces - is gradually gaining

Abstract: How do we reconcile the extraordinary success of the human species with the apparent stupidity of people and organizations? How can we understand the transformation of humans from foraging apes to urban clerks, without any appreciable change in physiology? No one has definitive answers to these questions, but we begin to answer them by

Abstract The impressive evolution that artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and robotics have recently undergone reached a point where it is now possible to fuse these technologies and create another body for the self. This possibility poses new questions at the core of embodied intelligence. In this talk I will examine a few of the technical,

Onur Güntürkün is regarded as a pioneer of biologically based psychology. The aim of his work is to find out how perception, thought and action arise in the brain. He is interested in diverse topics, such as motor learning, fear, risk-taking behavior and even kissing. In his research, Güntürkün combines psychological, biological and neuroanatomical aspects

In this talk I introduce Digital Mental Models (DMMs) as a novel cognitive capability of AI-powered and cognition-enabled robots. By combining digital twin technology with symbolic knowledge representation and embodying this combination into robots, we tackle the challenge of converting vague task requests into specific robot actions, that is robot motions that cause desired physical

Abstract: While advances in automated fact-checking are critical in the fight against the spread of misinformation in social media, we argue that more attention is needed in the domain of unfalsifiable claims. In this talk, we outline some promising directions for identifying the prevailing narratives in shared content (image & text) and explore how the

Abstract: Psychology, the "science of mental life", aims to provide models and theories that apply universally. However, there is a growing concern that what we gather from studying humans in a particular place and time might not accurately reflect how humans behave in other contexts. This talk will consider how we can establish whether something

Abstract: Comparative psychologists have spent the last few decades examining whether nonhuman animals understand the physical world in a way that is similar to humans. Broadly, human intuitive physics is thought to include a collection of abilities, such as knowing that solid objects continue to exist even when no longer perceived and that objects tend