Subject: iee colloq . london ( may ) : grounding-representations ( sharkey / mc

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = grounding representations grounding representations grounding representations = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 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 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 @ iee . org . uk ( sarah leong ) e - mail : mbarrett @ iee . org . uk ( martin barrett ) e - mail : dpenrose @ 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 @ 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 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 .
