The University of California, Merced Cognitive & Information Sciences Faculty proudly present the
2022 Distinguished Cognitive Scientist Award Presentation
With the help of Robert Glushko and Pamela Samuelson, the Cognitive and Information Sciences faculty selects one person every year to honor as UC Merced’s Distinguished Cognitive Scientist. The recipient is invited to campus to receive the award, and delivers a broad public talk detailing their influential and groundbreaking research. Professor Melanie Mitchell (Santa Fe Institute), the Distinguished Cognitive Scientist of 2022, will give a public talk titled "Why AI is Harder Than We Think" on Monday, October 3 at 3:30 p.m., at the UC Merced Conference Center. We sincerely hope that you will be able to join us for the talk!
Abstract: Since its beginning in the 1950s, the field of artificial intelligence has cycled several times between periods of optimistic predictions and massive investment (“AI Spring”) and periods of disappointment, loss of confidence, and reduced funding (“AI Winter”). Even with today’s seemingly fast pace of AI breakthroughs, the development of long-promised technologies such as self-driving cars, housekeeping robots, and conversational companions has turned out to be much harder than many people expected. One reason for these repeating cycles is our limited understanding of the nature and complexity of intelligence itself. In this talk I will discuss some fallacies in common assumptions made by AI researchers, which can lead to overconfident predictions about the field. I will also speculate on what is needed for the grand challenge of making AI systems more robust, general, and adaptable — in short, more intelligent.
