The HUMANOBS Workshop is focused on the impending paradigm shift from constructionist to constructivist methodologies for building artificial intelligence. Constructionist refers to traditional top-down software design, which places serious limitations on scaling, while Constructivist refers to self-organizing systems that manage their own growth.

Update, August: Please note that the final program agenda is subject to change. Final details are kept up to date on the official HUMANOBS workshop website.

Incentives for Constructivist AI

The development of artificial intelligence systems has to date been largely one of manual labor. This Constructionist approach to A.I. has resulted in a diverse set of isolated solutions to relatively small pieces of the much larger question about how to artificially replicate the fundamental principles of intelligence.

Small success stories of putting these pieces together in robotics, for example, has made people optimistic that continuing on this path would lead to artificial general intelligence. This is unlikely. Standard software development methods, with their standard top-down design approach, put serious limitations on scaling; in A.I. the Constructionist approach results in systems with limited domain application and severe performance brittleness. Genuine integration, as required for general intelligence, is both practically and theoretically precluded.

Going beyond current A.I. systems requires significantly more complex integration than attempted to date, especially regarding transversal functions such as attention and learning. The only way to address the challenge is replacing top-down architectural design as the main development methodology with methods focusing on self-generated code and self-organizing architectures. We call this Constructivist A.I.

Support Stipend Program

A Support Stipend Program is being offered for 5 students and/or junior scientists (PhD students or post-docs from less than two years) attending HUMANOBS workshop, to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, on September 1st and 2nd, 2011. The selected individuals will receive 750 Euro stipend to support them in their attendance; attendance on both days of the HUMANOBS workshop is required. Funds will be issued after the workshop. The individuals will be asked to present their work in the form of a poster.

For more information on how to apply, visit HUMANOBS workshop website.

TENTATIVE AGENDA

SEPTEMBER 1st

• 09:00 – 09:25 — Welcome, introduction to the workshop / Day 1
• 09:30 – 10:10 — Presentation 1

Jörg Siekman
AUTOMATED REASONING: FROM SEARCH-BASED TECHNIQUES TO PLANNING
Presentation of challenges 1 & 2

• 10:10 – 10:20 — Team discussion rules presented
• 10:20 – 11:05 — Team collaboration on challenges 1 & 2
• 11:05 – 11:20 — COFFEE BREAK
• 11:20 – 12:05 — Challenges 1 & 2: Team conclusions and solutions
• 12:05 – 13:30 — LUNCH
• 13:30 – 14:00 — Presentation 2

Eric Baum
WHAT HUMAN GO PLAYERS DO THAT MY SYSTEM DOESN’T
Presentation of challenges 3 and 4

• 14:00 – 14:45 — Team collaboration on problems 3 & 4
• 14:45 – 15:30 — Challenges 3 & 4: Team conclusions and solutions
• 15:30 – 15:50 — COFFEE BREAK
• 14:45 – 15:15 — Presentation 3

[Author TBD]
[Topic TBD]
Presentation of challenges 5 & 6

• 15:15 – 16:00 — Team collaboration on challenges 5 & 6
• 16:00 – 16:45 — Challenges 5 & 6: Team conclusions and solutions
• 16:45 – 17:00 — Conclusions of Day 1

SEPTEMBER 2nd

• 09:00 – 09:15 — Introduction to schedule for Day 2
• 09:20 – 09:50 — Presentation 1

Pei Wang
HOW TO CONTROL A ROBOT USING A REASONING SYSTEM
Presentation of challenges 7 & 8

• 09:50 – 10:35 — Team collaboration on challenges 7 & 8
• 10:35 – 11:20 Challenges 7 & 8: Team conclusions and solutions
• 11:20 – 11:40 — COFFEE BREAK
• 11:40 – 12:10 — Presentation 2

[Author TBD]
[Topic TBD]
Presentation of challenges 11 & 12

• 12:10 – 13:30 — LUNCH
• 13:30 – 14:15 — Team collaboration on challenges 9 & 10
• 14:30 – 14:45 — Challenges 9 & 10: Team conclusions and solutions
• 14:45 – 15:15 — Presentation 3

Kristinn R. Thórisson & Eric Nivel
FROM CONSTRUCTIONIST TO CONSTRUCTIVIST AI: ARCHITECTURE MATTERS
Presentation of challenges 9 & 10

• 15:15 – 16:10 — Team collaboration on challenges 11 & 12
• 16:10 – 16:30 — COFFEE BREAK
• 16:30 – 17:20 — Challenges 11 & 12: Team conclusions and solutions
• 17:20 – 17:35 — Conclusions of Day 1
• 17:35 – 17:45 — Summary of Workshop / Introduction to Day 3
• 19:00 – 21:30 — Dinner

SEPTEMBER 3rd

• 08:00 — Half-day excursion to Iceland’s countryside

About HUMANOBS

The HUMANOBS project started in January 2009 and runs until year-end 2011. The goal of the project is to create an artificial intelligence that can learn socio-communicative skills by observing and imitating people. The three main objectives of the project are to build auto-reconfiguring architecture, behavior observation mechanisms and behavior generation and coordination mechanisms. As a result demonstration a virtual humanoid television host will be created, capable of taking interviews and conducting a 30-minute TV program.

More detailed information on the project can be found on HUMANOBS official web site.