Topic: machines

Tomaso Poggio discusses principles that could explain learning and intelligence in brains and machines. Topics include the relationship between engineering and theory, levels of explanation, the role of learning, and compositional sparsity and genericity as potential explanations for the effectiveness of deep networks.

Henk de Regt examines scientific understanding as the ability to use a theory productively, rather than merely possessing facts or a feeling of insight. The conversation considers explanation, scientific skills, realism and metaphors, and how the account applies to understanding in humans and machines.