PI Lecture

Oliver Brock (Science of Intelligence): 5 Things I Think About (Out Loud)

Abstract: Oliver Brock will talk about these five things: 1) Is intelligence non-decomposable? 2) Does intelligence require multiple computational paradigms? 3) To neuroscience or not to neuroscience? 4) A principle of intelligence? 5) It's all about the prior Each section will be followed by Q&A&D. The Zoom Link will be sent the day before the

PI Lecture

Oliver Brock (Science of Intelligente): 5 Things I Think About (Out Loud), Part 2

Abstract: Oliver Brock will continue exploring about these five things: 1) Is intelligence non-decomposable? 2) Does intelligence require multiple computational paradigms? 3) To neuroscience or not to neuroscience? 4) A principle of intelligence? 5) It’s all about the prior The Zoom Link will be sent the day before the lecture. (Contact communication@scioi.de for specific questions)

PI Lecture

Martin Rolfs (Science of Intelligence), “Looking for Action in Perception”

On Zoom

Abstract Actions affect perception directly and in multiple ways, exerting their influence (1) by modifying parts of the external world, (2) through internal processes accompanying movement preparation, and (3) through the sensory consequences of moving the sensory surface itself (i.e., in vision, the retina). To understand these influences, psychology and neuroscience have long recognized the

PI Lecture

Marc Toussaint (Science of Intelligence), “Do We Need Reasoning?”

On Zoom

Reasoning (or planning, rational decision making) seems a core aspect of intelligence -- but what exactly does that mean? If we observe clever behavior in an animal, can we claim it is based on reasoning? And doesn't the success of deep RL show us that we (as engineers) do not need reasoning? I'll discuss reasoning

PI Lecture

Pawel Romanczuk (Science of Intelligence), “Is intelligence critical? Can magnets teach us anything about brains and swarms?”

Abstract: More than three decades ago, it was proposed that certain natural systems can be viewed as self-organized critical systems, which self-tune themselves to special regions in parameter space close to so-called critical points, where the behavior of a system exhibits a qualitative change at the macroscopic scale, i.e. it undergoes a phase transition. Over

PI Lecture

Rebecca Lazarides (Science of Intelligente), “Learning in social interaction – emotions, motivation and adaptive learning support”

 ABSTRACT: Central theories of learning in human agents emphasize that the quality of instruction and interaction between agents is of high importance for effective knowledge transfer. On the other side, within-agent characteristics such as a certain level of emotion and motivation is required to participate in social interactions. Consequently, the interplay between characteristics of social

PI Lecture

Tim Landgraf (Science of Intelligence), “The hidden shallows of explaining deep models”

Abstract: In the cognitive-, behavioral- or neuro-sciences we often match a computational model to observations and then, analyzing the model, hope to find results that generalize to the underlying system. With deep neural networks (DNNs) quite powerful function approximators are available that can be fitted to huge data sets, accelerated by cheap hardware and elaborate

PI Lecture

Lars Lewejohann (Science of Intelligence), “What’s on a mouse’s mind? Behavioral measures to understand experiences and needs of an animal”

What's on a mouse's mind? Behavioral measures to understand experiences and needs of an animal Lars Lewejohann, Freie Universität Berlin, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R) Mice, as all other living creatures, have adapted to specific living conditions in the course of evolution. From a

PI Lecture

Henning Sprekeler (Science of Intelligence), “Harnessing machine learning to model biological systems”

"Harnessing machine learning to model biological systems" Abstract: Classically, models of biological systems follow two different approaches. In bottom-up approaches, biological data are used to constrain a phenomenological model of the system in question, and the model is the studied to identify potential functions or potential consequences of the observations that flow into the model.

PI Lecture

Marcel Brass (Science of Intelligence), “The cognitive neuroscience of implementing novel instructions”

One fundamental difference between human and non-human animals is the ability of humans to instantaneously implement instructed behaviour. While other animals acquire new behaviour via effortful trial-and-error learning or extensive practice, humans can implement novel behaviour based on instructions. This ability is presumably a key aspect of cultural learning. In my talk, I will discuss

PI Lecture

Max Wolf, “Fishy twin studies and the origin of personality differences”

Abstract: I will discuss research on a powerful biological model system, the natural clonal fish Amazon molly. Mothers in this female-only species produce genetically identical offspring, allowing us to employ an experimental twin study approach to address some of the most fundamental questions associated with behaviour and the development of behaviour. Do twins separated directly