Final Symposium 26-28 October 2022: “Computational Mechanisms in Brains and Machines – Simplicity & Generalizability”
Computational mechanisms are central to both cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence. In the former, mechanisms are posited and described to explain the behavior of biological organisms. In the latter, mechanisms are designed and optimized to develop machines that perform cognitive tasks. Given that in these disciplines mechanisms are used to perform similar tasks over different material substrates, questions arise about these mechanisms’ composition and function, as well as about their similarities and differences.
For example, questions arise about the level of detail that is required to adequately describe such mechanisms. In particular, a relatively high level of detail is presumably required to effect surgical changes to improve system performance. At the same time, the norms of scientific modeling traditionally demand that predictive power must be balanced with simplicity to facilitate theorizing and modeling.
Moreover, questions arise about how to possibly assess the similarity of mechanisms in brains and digital computers. This may be required to e.g. optimize artificial systems by incorporating known features of biological brains, but also to determine the putative “intelligence” of artificial minds. It remains unclear, however, how computational mechanisms should be properly delineated, individuated, and compared.
This workshop brings together researchers from philosophy, neuroscience and artificial intelligence to address these and related questions about the metaphysics and epistemology of computational mechanisms. This will be used to advance current debates in philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of AI, but also to inform theory and methodology in neuroscience (e.g., about computational model-selection) and artificial intelligence (e.g., about the threat of opacity and the possibility of intervention).
Program
Day One - 26.10.2022 | |
| 12:00 | Reception & check-in Bar Charlotte, hotel lobby, ground floor |
| 12:30 | Lunch Restaurant Pascarella, hotel restaurant, ground floor |
| Afternoon Sessions, Conference Room ‘Dresden’ | |
| 13:25 | Jens Harbecke, Carlos Zednik Opening Address |
| 13:30-14:15 (45 mins) (Abstr. No. 1) | Oron Shagrir, Professor of Philosophy and of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Integrating computation into the mechanistic hierarchy in the cognitive and neural sciences |
| 14:20-15:05 (45 mins) (Abstr. No. 12) | Jens Harbecke, Professor of Philosophy, University of Witten/Herdecke Johannes Mierau, Postdoc in Philosophy, University of Witten/Herdecke GeSiMEx team - Project Talk pt. 1: Generalizability and Simplicity in Boolean Inferential Methods for the Establishment of Constitutive-Mechanistic Models in the Cognitive and Biological Sciences |
| 15:10-15:30 (20 mins) (Abstr. No. 3) | Lightning Talk Carla Nassisi, MA alumna, Witten/Herdecke University Title: The “Better” Model: How Epistemic Goals Influence Model Choice in (Neuro)Economics |
| 15:30 | Coffee break Foyer München |
| Third and Final Part, Conference Room ‘Dresden’ | |
| 16:00-16:45 (45 mins) (Abstr. No. 4) | Gualtiero Piccinini, Professor of Philosophy, University of Missouri – St. Louis Neural Hardware for the Language of Thought |
| 16:50-17:25 (35 mins) (Abstr. No. 5) | André Ofner, Researcher, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg Predictive coding models at the intersection of deep learning and neuroscience - work-in-progress discussion (paper to be shared beforehand) |
| 17:30-18:00 (30 mins) (Abstr. No. 6) | Jan Engelmann, Professor of Neuroeconomics, University of Amsterdam Distinguishing agent-specific and decision-specific channels of attention in risky decision-making |
| 18:05-18:45 (40 mins) (Abstr. No. 15) | Carlos Zednik, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Eindhoven University of Technology Toward a Cognitive Science of AI: Methods and Norms |
| 19:30 | Dinner |
Day Two - 27.10.2022 | |
| 08:00 | Breakfast buffet Bar Charlotte, hotel lobby, ground floor |
| Morning Session, Conference Room ‘Dresden’ | |
| 09:00-09:50 (50 mins) (Abstr. No. 8) | Sebastian Gluth, Professor of General Psychology, University of Hamburg Cross-talk and competition between levels of analysis in neuroeconomics - interactive presentation and discussions |
| 09:55-10:30 (35 mins) (Abstr. No. 9) | Lena Kästner, Professor of Philosophy, Computer Science and Artificial intelligence, University of Bayreuth Blackbox AI: How to Discover What Happens Inside - work-in-progress discussion (paper to be shared beforehand) |
| 10:30 | Coffee break Foyer 'München' |
| 11:00-11:50 (50 mins) (Abstr. No. 10) | Arnon Levy, Associate Professor of Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem What is a Neural Approximation? |
| 11:55-12:30 (35 mins) (Abstr. No. 11) | Lightning Talk Mohamed Hassan, MA alumnus, Witten/Herdecke University Why Social Robots Need Self-Preservation to Be Objects of Moral Consideration |
| 12:30 | Lunch Restaurant Pascarella, hotel restaurant, ground floor |
| Afternoon Session, Conference Room ‘Dresden’ | |
| 13:30-14:20 (50 mins) (Abstr. No. 2) | Jäkel Frank, Professor of Psychology, Technical University of Darmstadt More Levels of Explanation |
| 14:25-15:05 (40 mins) (Abstr. No. 13) | Tim Kietzmann, Professor of Machine Learning, Osnabrück University The neuroconnectionist research programme |
| 15:10 (20 mins) | Open Space Discussions Planning Under a common theme, participants will be able to put ideas for discussions that they are most interested in on a miro board. They should be ready to take responsibility to facilitate it. After that, attendees can decide which discussion group they want to joinby putting their names on the board. Next day, attendees will break out in their circles and the facilitators will be taking notes on a common google doc. |
| 17:00 | Dark Worlds - Berlin Underground Tour “Every day, hundreds of people walk past a green door in the Gesundbrunnen underground railway station, unaware that, behind it, lies a subterranean labyrinth full of history just waiting to be experienced. Berlin was the nerve centre of the Third Reich and therefore one of the main targets for allied bombing during WW II. On this tour, our expert guides will lead you in exploring one of the few remaining bunkers, as it was left after the war. There you will learn more about the life of the average Berlin citizen during the air raids that destroyed up to 80% of the city centre. Travelling through the twisting passages and rooms, you will also see countless artefacts from the war that have been buried for decades. Additionally, by looking into the development of the city's subway and sewerage systems as well its former pneumatic post, we will provide you with an insight into the 160-year-old underground history of Berlin.” Distance approx. 30 mins on foot |
| 20:30 | Dinner |
Day Three - 28.10.2022 | |
| 08:00 | Breakfast buffet Bar Charlotte, hotel lobby, ground floor |
| Morning Session, Conference Room ‘Dresden’ | |
| 09:00-09:40 (40 mins) (Abstr. No. 14) | Beate Krickel, Professor of Philosophy, Technical University of Berlin Title: tba |
| 09:45-10:30 (45 mins) (Abstr. No. 7) | Sebastian Stober, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg Title: CogXAI: Cognitive Neuroscience Inspired Techniques For Explainable AI |
| 10:30 | Coffee Break Foyer München |
| 11:00-11:30 (30 mins) | Jens Harbecke, Professor of Philosophy, University of Witten/Herdecke Johannes Mierau, Postdoc in Philosophy, University of Witten/Herdecke GeSiMEx team - Project Talk pt. 2: Generalizability and Simplicity in Boolean Inferential Methods for the Establishment of Constitutive-Mechanistic Models in the Cognitive and Biological Sciences |
| 11:35-12:30 (55 mins) | Open space discussion Topics TBD on the second day Moderators: TBD on the second day |
| 12:30 | Lunch Restaurant Pascarella, hotel restaurant, ground floor |