Forum: Electric Brains |
Friday, February 12, 7:00 p.m.
Even the fastest super computer can not effectively perform simple activities that we take for granted in a young child. For example, a five year old can instantly pick out her mother’s face in a room crowded with dozens of strangers. A computer could not.
Computers are not good at pattern recognition type activities such as continuous speech recognition and artificial vision. But computers do excel (they are fast and precise) in applications such as math, data processing, and process control situations where following a known fixed set of instructions (a "program") will yield correct results.
Perhaps the most exciting branch of Artificial Intelligence research today is in the area of "Artificial Neural Networks". Artificial Neural Networks work much like our brains. A large number of highly interconnected simple processing elements (neurons) work in unison to solve specific problems.
Unlike a conventional computer, an Artificial Neural Network is not programmed to solve problems. Rather the Neural Network, like people, learns by experience.
And also like people, Neural Networks appear to excel in situations that require complex pattern recognition, or an ability to adapt to situations that can not be fully described in a computer program.
Although they are still in their infancy, Neural Networks are being tried in a variety of robotics: scientific, medical, financial, and other "data mining" applications. The future potential for Artificial Neural Networks is hard to imagine. Perhaps someday artificial beings will rule the world thanks to their superior Neural Network "Positronic" brains.
Our speaker for this Forum is Jennie Si, Ph.D. Professor Si is an Associate Professor at ASU’s Electrical Engineering Department. She teaches Neural Network courses, conducts research, and is regarded as a Neural Network expert at ASU. Professor Si has also consulted with Intel Corporation about Artificial Neural Networks. This Forum should prove to be extremely educational and interesting. Please plan to attend.
To get to AutoNation, take the Ray Road exit off I-10 East, turn left over the freeway on Ray, then turn left at the first road (Weber), go one block and turn left on Orchard. The Post-Forum discussion will be at Keegans only a few blocks away. Questions?: Call Jerry Corbin at 438-0958