Making artificial intelligence more human

October 7, 2013

MIT center, backed by $25m federal grant, learning from infant brain research.

CAMBRIDGE — The bold quest to build intelligent machines has, after more than half a century, brought us to this point: Scientists can build a “Jeopardy!” champion, but a child can handily outperform a computer when it comes to deciphering social situations, learning, or pretty much any activity outside the machine’s narrow band of expertise.

To change that, a group of leading infant researchers, neurobiologists, computer scientists, and robotics and software companies are joining forces in a major effort to finally achieve and even expand the grandiose ambitions of artificial intelligence, supported by a $25 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

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