15 Mar
1995
15 Mar
'95
10:22 p.m.
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 95 17:44:53 GMT
From: Paul Mc Kevitt <P.McKevitt(a)dcs.shef.ac.uk>
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GROUNDING REPRESENTATIONS GROUNDING REPRESENTATIONS GROUNDING REPRESENTATIONS
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PROGRAMME AND CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
GROUNDING REPRESENTATIONS:
Integration of sensory information in
Natural Language Processing,
Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks
IEE COLLOQUIUM
IEE Computing and Control Division
[Professional group: C4 (Artificial Intelligence)]
in association with:
British Computer Society Specialist Group on Expert Systems
and
The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence
and Simulation of Behaviour (SSAISB)
MONDAY, MAY 15th, 1995
**********************
at the
IEE Colloquium
Savoy Place
London, ENGLAND
Chairs
NOEL SHARKEY and PAUL MC KEVITT
Department of Computer Science
University of Sheffield, England
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
Perhaps the most famous criticism of traditional Artificial
Intelligence is that computer programs use symbols that are arbitrarily
interpretable (see Searle, 1980 for the Chinese Room and Harnad, 1990
for the symbol grounding problem). We could, for example, use the word
"apple" to mean anything from a "common fruit" to a "pig's
nose". All
the computer knows is the relationship between this symbol and the
others that we have given it. The question is, how is it possible to
move from this notion of meaning, as the relationship between arbitrary
symbols, to a notion of "intrinsic" meaning. In other words, how do we
provide meaning by grounding computer symbols or representations in the
physical world?
The aim of this colloquium is to take a broad look at many of the
important issues in relating machine intelligence to the world and to
make accessible some of the most recent research in integrating
information from different modalities. For example, why is it
important to have symbol or representation grounding and what is the
role of the emerging neural network technology?
One approach has been to link intelligence to the sensory world
through visual systems or robotic devices. Another approach is work on
systems that integrate information from different modalities such as
vision and language. Yet another approach has been to examine how the
human brain relates sensory, motor and other information. It looks
like we may be at long last getting a handle on the age old CHINESE
ROOM and SYMBOL GROUNDING problems. Hence this colloquium has as its
focus, "grounding representations.
The colloquium will occur over one day and will focus on three themes:
(1) Biology and development; (2) Computational models and (3) Symbol
grounding.
The target audience of this colloquium will include Engineers and
Scientists in Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence,
Developmental Psychologists, Cognitive Scientists, Philosophers of
mind, Biologists and all of those interested in the application of
Artificial Intelligence to real world problems.
PROGRAMME:
Monday, May 15th, 1995
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INTRODUCTION:
9.00 REGISTRATION + SUSTENANCE
10.00 `An introduction'
NOEL SHARKEY
(Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, ENGLAND)
BIOLOGY:
10.30 `The neuronal mechanisms of language'
VALENTINO BRAITENBERG
(Max Plank Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, GERMANY)
COMPUTATIONAL MODELS:
11.00 `Natural language and exploration of an information space'
OLIVIERO STOCK
(Istituto per la Ricerca Scientifica e Technologica, IRST)
(Trento, ITALY)
11.30 `How visual salience influences natural language descriptions'
WOLFGANG MAASS
(Cognitive Science Programme)
(Universitaet des Saarlandes, Saarbruecken, GERMANY)
12.00 DISCUSSION
12.30 LUNCH
GROUNDING SYMBOLS:
2.00 `On grounding language with neural networks'
GEORG DORFFNER
(Austrian Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Vienna, AUSTRIA)
2.30 `Some observations on symbol-grounding from a combined
symbolic/connectionist viewpoint'
JOHN BARNDEN
(Computing Research Laboratory, New Mexico, USA) &
(Department of Computer Science, University of Reading, ENGLAND)
3.00 Sustenance Break
3.30 `Grounding symbols in sensorimotor categories with neural networks'
STEVAN HARNAD
(Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, ENGLAND)
PANEL DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS:
4.00 `Grounding representations'
Chairs + Invited speakers
S/IN S/IN:
4.30 `De brief/comments'
PAUL MC KEVITT
(Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, ENGLAND)
5.00 O/ICHE MHA/ITH
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PUBLICATION:
We intend to publish a book on this Colloquium Proceedings.
ADDRESSES
IEE CONTACT:
Sarah Leong
Groups Officer
The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE)
Savoy Place
GB- WC2R OBL, London
England, UK, EU.
E-mail: SLeong(a)iee.org.uk (Sarah Leong)
E-mail: mbarrett(a)iee.org.uk (Martin Barrett)
E-mail: dpenrose(a)iee.org.uk (David Penrose)
WWW: http://www.iee.org.uk
Ftp: ftp.iee.org.uk
FaX: +44 (0) 171-497-3633
Phone: +44 (0) 171-240-1871 (general)
Phone: +44 (0) 171-344-8423 (direct)
LOCATION:
The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE)
Savoy Place
GB- WC2R OBL, London
England, UK, EU.
ACADEMIC CONTACT:
Paul Mc Kevitt
Department of Computer Science
Regent Court
211 Portobello Street
University of Sheffield
GB- S1 4DP, Sheffield
England, UK, EU.
E-mail: p.mckevitt(a)dcs.shef.ac.uk
WWW: http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/
WWW: http://www.shef.ac.uk/
Ftp: ftp.dcs.shef.ac.uk
FaX: +44 (0) 114-278-0972
Phone: +44 (0) 114-282-5572 (Office)
282-5596 (Lab.)
282-5590 (Secretary)
REGISTRATION:
Registration forms are available from SARAH LEONG at the above address
and should be sent to the following address: (It is NOT possible to
register by E-mail.)
Colloquium Bookings
Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE)
PO Box 96
Stevenage
GB- SG1 2SD Herts
England, UK, EU.
Fax: +44 (0) 143 874 2792
Receipt Enquiries: +44 (0) 143 876 7243
Registration enquiries: +44 (0) 171 240 1871 x.2206
PRE-REGISTRATION IS ADVISED ALTHOUGH YOU CAN REGISTER ON THE DAY OF THE
EVENT.
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R E G I S T R A T I O N COSTS
________________________________________________________________________
(ALL FIGURES INCLUDE VAT)
IEE MEMBERS 44.00
NON-IEE MEMBERS 74.00
IEE MEMBERS
(Retired, Unemployed, Students) FREE
NON-IEE MEMBERS
(Retired, Unemployed, Students) 22.00
LUNCH TICKET 4.70
MEMBERS:
Members of the IEEIE, The British Computer Society and the Society for
the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour and
Eurel Member Associations will be admitted at Members' rates.
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