🚀 go-pugleaf

ACS AISIG (Victoria) Seminar : Monday 20th April : 5.45- 7pm
Computer Science Department : Melbourne University
 
SPEAKER: Dr. Kevin Korb, Computer Science, Monash University
         korb@cs.monash.edu.au
 
 
TITLE:  THE FRAME PROBLEM: AN AI FAIRY STORY
 
ABSTRACT:  Much has been made of the Frame Problem inside
and outside of AI.  Pat Hayes and other logicists have
represented it as *the* fundamental problem for AI, whose
lack of resolution impedes progress for the whole.  World-
renowned philosophers have been persuaded of its
significance, with Dan Dennett, for example, announcing
that it demonstrates that AI can indeed contribute
substantially to modern thought, at least by posing *new*
and *difficult* problems for us to solve.  I shall argue
that the Frame Problem -- as represented by logicists --
is little more than a FRAUD.  I agree with Drew McDermott
that, stripped of logicist assumptions, AI has no frame
problem.  However, unlike McDermott, I find that the
frame problem is properly replaced by a REALLY difficult
problem: how to learn about the causal structure of the
universe.  I close with a precis of recent attempts to
deal with this real AI problem.
 
 
BIOGRAPHY:  Kevins research is in artificial
intelligence, the philosophy of science and the
interrelation between the two.  Of particular interest to
him is the nature of cognition and learning.  From the
philosophy side this manifests itself in the study of
confirmation theory and, in particular, Bayesian methods
of learning and theory evaluation.  The artificial
intelligence side includes all varieties of machine
learning projects, and particularly their analysis in
Bayesian terms.  He is also Associate Editor of Psyche:
an Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on
Consciousness.
 
***************************************************
 
The current schedule for the following months is:
 
 
June 17  Liz Kendall    Computer        Agents and
                        Systems         Objects
                        Engineering,    
                        RMIT
                        
July 15  Andrew         Computer        To be advised
         Jennings       Systems         
                        Engineering,
                        RMIT
                        
August   Wayne Jenkins  Computer        Machine Learning
19                      Science,        
                        RMIT
                        
 
All these seminars will be given in our new venue: the
Computer Science Department at the University of
Melbourne (221 Bouverie St.)
 
The building is a 5 story grey/green building, located on
the west side, around 100 metres south of Grattan Street.
The venue will be the Seminar Room, which is in the
basement - accessible by the stairs if you enter the
building on the north-east corner (ie the corner nearest
Grattan St).  There are two entrances to the building -
the other, which you don't want as it should be locked at
that time, is in the middle of the building.  As it is
term time you may find some difficulty parking near the
building
 
 
For further information on the seminar or AISIG contact:
 
Simon Goss          9626 7274
Ross Gayler         9643 8853
Julie Gledhill 9818 0795