SSP Forum: Jay McClelland on human like abilities in models
Room 126
(See description for Notes on Entry)

Jay McClelland
The
Symbolic Systems Forum
(community sessions of SYMSYS 280 - Symbolic Systems Research Seminar)
presents
Toward models of human cognition that achieve human like abilities
Jay McClelland
Psychology Department
Monday, January 27, 2025
12;30-1:20 pm PT
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg. 460), Room 126
In-person event, not recorded (see below for entry instructions if you are not an active Stanford affiliate)
Note: Lunch is provided, if pre-ordered, only for members of SYMSYS 280, but others are welcome to bring a lunch and eat during the presentation.
ABSTRACT:
In the past, models of human cognition attempted to capture principles of human cognition but they could not actually achieve human like levels of performance in a wide range of domains. For example, they could not recognize objects in images, learn to beat a good Chess player, or translate from one language into another. In contrast, recent advances in AI have created machines that often exceed human abilities, but they do not do so in human like ways. These systems also have some important weaknesses compared to our human cognitive abilities. In this talk, I will review some of the strengths and weaknesses of today’s AI systems and sketch an approach toward building models that might someday reach human-level abilities. There are several challenges and open questions that face this approach. In will raise some of these challenges and open questions, and suggest possible ways to approach them.
Notes on entry to the meeting room:
Entry to the building is open to anyone with an active Stanford ID via the card readers next to each door. If you do not have a Stanford ID, you can gain entry between 12:15 and 12:30pm ONLY by knocking on the exterior windows of room 126. These windows are to the left of the west side exterior door on the first floor of Margaret Jacks Hall, which faces the back east side of Building 420. Please do not knock on these windows after 12:30pm when the talk has started. We will not be able to come out and open the door for you at that point.