Adenauerring 2, Bldg. 50.20, Room 148, 76131 Karlsruhe

9 December 2022, 11:00

Prof. Yukie Nagai, Project Professor, University of Tokyo

Yukie Nagai is a Project Professor at the International Research Center for Neurointelligence, the University of Tokyo. She received her Ph.D. in Engineering from Osaka University in 2004 and then worked at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Bielefeld University, and Osaka University. Since 2019, she leads Cognitive Developmental Robotics Lab at the University of Tokyo. Her research interests include cognitive developmental robotics, computational neuroscience, and assistive technologies for developmental disorders. She was elected to "30 women in robotics you need to know about" in 2019, "World’s 50 Most Renowned Women in Robotics" in 2020, and "35 Women in Robotics Engineering and Science" in 2022.

Abstract:
What neural mechanisms underlie cognitive development?
 

Can we build developing minds in robots?
 

My research group has been investigating human minds by a computational approach. We suggest that a neuroscience theory called predictive coding provides a unified account for developing minds. My talk first shows how artificial neural networks based on predictive coding enable robots to acquire various cognitive functions. Social behaviors such as reading intention/emotion and altruistic behavior emerge through prediction error minimization. Our experiments further demonstrate influences of altered predictive processing on cognitive development. Aberrant precision of prediction and sensation produce neurodiverse behaviors as observed in developmental disorders. I will discuss potentials and new challenges in building developing minds in robots.

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