14 January 2025, Machine Learning and Logic: Fast and Slow Thinking, Moshe Vardi

On the occasion of World Logic Day, January 14, 2025, the DLMPST Commission on Logic Education invites you to a webinar by Professor Moshe Vardi.

Date: January 14, 2025, Time: 0700 CST, 1300 GMT, 1400 CET, 1830 IST, 2100 (Beijing).
Zoom Link: URL: https://cmi-ac-in.zoom.us/j/89055168551?pwd=7SeShMDEKSLw1wy6ZaZj4JEa0hiuqE.1
Meeting ID: 890 5516 8551.
Passcode: gangesha

Talk details:

Machine Learning and Logic: Fast and Slow Thinking
Moshe Y. Vardi
Rice University

Computer science seems to be undergoing a paradigm shift. Much of earlier research was conducted in the framework of well-understood formal models. In contrast, some of the hottest trends today shun formal models and rely on massive data sets and machine learning. A cannonical example of this change is the shift in AI from logic programming to deep learning. I will argue that the correct metaphore for this development is not paradigm shift, but paradigm expansion. Just as General Relativity augments Newtonian Mechanics, rather than replace it -- we went to the moon, after all, using Newtonian Mechanics -- data-driven computing augments model-driven computing. In the context of Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and logic correspond to the two modes of human thinking: fast thinking and slow thinking. The challenge today is to integrate the model-driven and data-driven paradigms. I will describe one approach to such an integration -- making logic more quantitative. I will conclude by discussing implications for computer-science education.

Speaker Bio:

Moshe Y. Vardi is a University Professor, and the George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering at Rice University. He is the author and co-author of close to 800 papers, as well as two books. He is the recipient of several scientific awards, is a fellow of several societies, and a member of several honorary academies. He holds ten honorary titles. He is a Senior Editor of Communications of the ACM, the premier publication in computing, focusing on societal impact of information technology.