Seminars: April 7/8 (Intellimedia + Mind Search) (Dk) (fwd)

Csaba Pleh Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences 202 Junipero Serra Blvd Stanford, Ca. 94305 T.: (415)321-2052, Fax: ...1192 Home: (415)947-9641 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:19:50 +0100 (MET) From: Paul Mc Kevitt <pmck(a)kom.auc.dk> To: elsnet-list(a)let.ruu.nl Cc: pmck(a)kom.auc.dk, sean.onuallain(a)compapp.dcu.ie Subject: Seminars: April 7/8 (Intellimedia + Mind Search) (Dk) Resent-Date: Mon, 17 Mar 97 20:21:05 +100 Resent-From: pleh(a)izabell.elte.hu Resent-To: csaba.pleh(a)casbs.Stanford.EDU LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL AALBORG UNIVERSITY (AAU), DENMARK MultiMedia Network (AAU Netvoerkscenteret) IN COOPERATION.S WITH: INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (I-11) HUM study board INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS (IES) (I-8) ESN study board Department of Computer Science (CS) Department of Medical Informatics and Image Analysis (MIBA) Department of Communication Technology (KOM) Center for PersonKommunikation (CPK) INTELLIMEDIA 2000+ (The MMUI Initiative) IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A SERIES OF SEMINARS ON "INTELLIGENT MULTIMEDIA AND THE SEARCH FOR MIND" by Dr. Se/an /O Nuall/ain from Dublin City University (DCU) IRELAND, EU and the National Research Council (NRC) Ottawa, CANADA (Alle Velkommen !!!) ********************************************************************** "THE SEARCH FOR MIND: A new foundation for Cognitive Science" MONDAY, April 7th, 1997 10.00 AM INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS (I-8) FREDRIK BAJERS VEJ, 7-A4 A BUILDING (ROOM A4-108) ABSTRACT It is a measure of the maturity of Cognitive Science that, considered as the Science of Mind, it has developed sufficiently to be in crisis. In this talk, the nature of this crisis is explored and a new foundation for the discipline is proposed. The new foundation comprises a set of new fundamental tenets with specific empirical consequences as well as a new basic orientation in approaching the search for mind. The talk begins by noting the current state of Cognitive Science i.e. its ruling paradigm and the attacks on it, both on empirical and theoretical grounds. It proceeds to outline the main substantive tenets of the new foundation and the evidence for them across the disciplines which comprise Cognitive Science. Several current controversies yield immediately to the new analysis. The ecological approach to Cognition with its insistence on adaptation is assented to, with the caveat that a special set of categories have to be introduced for symbolic behavior. Finally, it is suggested that the interdisciplinary nature of Cognitive Science necessitates that, in Darwinian fashion, one or other discipline will come to the fore for a time. If the regnant discipline is now to become neuroscience , this does not spell the end of Cognitive Science; rather, it re-emphasizes its robust health. It is therefore unwise for Cognitive Science to commit itself to the methodology of one or other of its constituent disciplines. The danger is that the mantle of "The Science of Mind" may be passed on to another, less well-formed conceptual and administrative research structure. ********************************************************************** "AN INTEGRATED THEORY OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT" TUESDAY, April 8th, 1997 10.00 AM INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS (I-8) FREDRIK BAJERS VEJ, 7-A4 A BUILDING (ROOM A4-108) ABSTRACT For a variety of reasons,Consciousness and Selfhood are beginning once again intensively to be studied in a scientific frame of reference. The notions of each which are emerging are extremely varied; in the case of selfhood,the lack of an adequate vocabulary to capture various aspects of subjectivity has led to deep confusion. The task of the first part of this talk is to clear up this terminological confusion, while salvaging whatever is valuable from the contemporary discussion. The discussion in this part will inevitably range from neuroscience to quantum mechanics to experientialism. With this end in view, the theories of consciousness (and,where applicable,of selfhood) offered by Baars, Jackendoff, Minsky,Johnson-Laird, Flanagan and Penrose are looked at.Some,like the "mental models" view,are found inadequate for formal reasons.The others are investigated on philosophical grounds,and in the context of the historically-conditioned nature of the related concept of selfhood.It is found that in several cases they involve prescriptions for the description of selfhood which are unproved and perhaps destructive.The talk then switches to the task of giving an integrated account of consciousness with respect to cognitive development.The premise is that a theory of consciousness requires development.The distinctions available to consciousness are primarily cognitive achievements One important such distinction is that between the subject and his world,as he conceives it.It is argued that the cognitive function of self,as distinct from the felt experience of self,lies in the preservation of this distinction. The more important task of the second part is to introduce the moral issues inevitably involved in any treatment, scientific or otherwise, of the modern identity. ********************************************************************** "THE SPOKEN IMAGE SYSTEM" TUESDAY, April 8th, 1997 2.00 PM INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS (I-8) FREDRIK BAJERS VEJ, 7-A4 A BUILDING (ROOM A4-108) (TO INCLUDE "S/I" VIDEO SESSION) ABSTRACT This talk describes a project currently being undertaken at the National Research Council, Canada, which focusses on the visual interpretation of scene descriptions. This system accepts verbal scene descriptions and re-constructs a three-dimensional display of the virtual model of the world that it builds up in the process of interpreting the input. The obvious grounding issues are discussed with respect to the interaction of language and vision in humans. A video of the system in action will be shown. The project also addresses itself, inter alia, to two much-discussed topics: ** The relation between the semantics of language and vision ** The notion of symbol-grounding. I will discuss some of the parallels and differences between the linguistic and visual channels of perception. However, one of the main conclusions is that the interaction of these channels for human-computer interaction is, and should be, very different. ********************************************************************** It is intended to retire to THE QUEEN'S PUB on VINGAARDSGADE from 5.00 PM on... ********************************************************************** BIO=================================================================== Se/an /O Nuall/ain holds an M.Sc. in Psychology from University College, Dublin (UCD) and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), Ireland. He holds a lecturing (Associate Professor) post at Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland where he initiated and directed the B.Sc. in Applied Computational Linguistics. He is the author of a book on the foundations of Cognitive Science: "The Search for Mind" (Ablex, 1995) and co-editor of the book "TWO SCIENCES OF MIND: READINGS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCE AND CONSCIOUSNESS" (John Benjamins Publishing Co.., Amsterdam/ Philadelphia, 1997). ====================================================================== These seminars have been enabled through the AAU Netvoerkscenteret and the ESN and HUM study boards in cooperation.s with IntelliMedia 2000+ at Aalborg University (AAU), DENMARK. http://www.auc.dk/nc http://www.hum.auc.dk/i11/index.dk.html http://www.kom.auc.dk/ESN/ http://www.cpk.auc.dk/CPK/MMUI/ LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL