Abstract:
Advances in artificial intelligence, especially convolution networks and deep learning, were largely inspired by our understanding of sensory information processing in the brain. By contrast, AI has not yet made serious connection with contemporary neuroscience of higher cognitive abilities such as flexible task switching and optimal decision making, which is the topic of my talk. I will first discuss “cognitive-type” microcircuits capable of working memory (the brain’s ability to actively maintain and manipulate information in the absence of sensory stimuli) and decision-making (the process of evaluating multiple options that ultimately results in a particular choice). This line of research has led us to develop a large-scale brain circuit model with multiple interacting brain areas based on mesoscopic connectome and neurophysiological experiments. Such circuit modeling across levels, combined with training multi-module recurrent networks to perform cognitive tasks, represents a promising approach to elucidate distributed cognitive computations across the global brain, with potentially high impacts on the future of AI.
NYU Shanghai STEM seminar series is a weekly seminar series on every Wednesday, starting from 12th October 2016.
Please see below tentative schedule of STEM seminar series in 2017 Spring Semester.
- Feb. 8: NO SEMINAR
- Feb. 15: Li Li, Associate Professor of Neural Science and Psychology
- Feb. 22: Xiao-Jing Wang, Global Professor of Neural Science
- Mar. 1: Hanghui Chen, Assistant Professor of Physics
- Mar. 8: Vladas Sidoravicius, Professor of Mathematics
- Mar. 15: Keith Ross, Professor of Engineering and Computer Science
- Mar. 22: Olivier Marin, Associate Professor of Computer Science
- Mar. 29: Xinying Cai, Assistant Professor of Neural and Cognitive Sciences
- Apr. 5: Spring Recess, NO SEMINAR
- Apr. 12: Jungseog Kong, Assistant Professor of Biology
- Apr. 19: Gang Fang, Assistant Professor of Biology
- Apr. 26: Pierre Michael Tarres, Visiting Professor of Mathematics
- May 3: Jeff Erlich, Assistant Professor of Neural and Cognitive Sciences
- May 10: Laurent Mertz, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics
- May 17: NO SEMINAR
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