April 19, 2023 — Atlanta, GA

The GVU Brown Bag seminar series features distinguished speakers in both industry and academic fields, the latest talk on April 13, 2023 in the series titled “Computational Models of Human-Like Skill and Concept Formation” by Chris MacLellan focused on the development of computational systems that can replicate the efficient and flexible learning processes used by humans. Although significant progress has been made in the development of artificial systems with human-level proficiency across various tasks, most systems’ learning processes differ vastly from human learning.

Abstract: The AI community has made significant strides in developing artificial systems with human-level proficiency across various tasks. However, the learning processes in most systems differ vastly from human learning, often being substantially less efficient and flexible. For instance, training large language models demands massive amounts of data and power and updating them with new information remains challenging. In contrast, humans employ highly efficient incremental learning processes to continually update their knowledge, enabling them to acquire new knowledge with minimal examples and without overwriting prior learning.

In this talk, I will discuss some of the key learning capabilities humans exhibit and present three research vignettes from my lab that explore the development of computational systems with these capabilities. The first two vignettes explore computational models of skill learning from worked examples, correctness feedback, and verbal instruction. The third vignette investigates computational models of concept formation from natural language corpora. In conclusion, I will discuss future research directions and a broader vision for how cognitive science and cognitive systems research can lead to new AI advancements.

About GVU Brown Bag seminar series

The GVU Brown Bag seminar series is a popular platform that showcases distinguished speakers from both the academic and industry fields. These talks provide an opportunity to gain insights into the research, design, and thoughts of individuals whose work represents the core mission of the GVU Center. The center is a leading interdisciplinary research organization located at the Georgia Institute of Technology that focuses on human-computer interaction, computing, and design.

If you have any technical issues or questions, you can reach out to the GVU Center at

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