CSE Colloquium – Neurosymbolic AI: from research to industry

Presenter: Luis Lamb, Catholic Institute of Technology

Neurosymbolic AI brings together the statistical nature of machine learning with the formal reasoning capabilities of symbolic AI. It seeks to offer a balanced approach to contemporary AI technologies, by combining the ability to learn from data, with the capacity to reason upon knowledge acquired from an environment. The main criticism of neural machine learning lies in its lack of explainability and semantics, which are key requirements in safety-critical applications, yet inherent strengths of logic-based methods. Recently, several corporations have publicly announced products and technologies grounded in neurosymbolic AI methodologies. This talk provided a concise review of the foundations, frameworks and tools underlying neurosymbolic AI, along with illustrative applications. It concludes by highlighting current trends and research directions in the field.

Luis Lamb is Professor of Computer Science and Vice President of Research at the Catholic Institute of Technology. His research interests include: Artificial Intelligence, Neurosymbolic AI, Innovation Strategies, and Applied Logics. Lamb has co-authored two research monographs, including Neural-Symbolic Cognitive Reasoning, with d’Avila Garcez and Gabbay (Springer 2009). He organized two Dagstuhl Seminars on Neursymbolic AI, published widely in AI, and has worked in the area for over 20 years.  Lamb also has extensive experience leading research planning, strategy, and university wide research & infrastructure grant applications, and strategic academic-industry partnerships. He has been a Professor in Brazil and has experience in industry as a former Senior Manager of AI and Machine Learning at Boeing. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Imperial College London and an MBA from MIT.

Hosted by: Professor Mohsen Lesani

Location: Engineering 2, E2-180

*Refreshments such as coffee and pastries will be provided.