2027 School on Analytical Connectionism

The School on Analytical Connectionism is a two-week summer course on analytical tools, including methods from statistical physics and probability theory, for probing neural network models of higher-level cognition, bringing together neuroscience, psychology and machine-learning communities. The 2027 school, held in Boston from 2 to 13 August 2027, focuses on interpretability in reasoning and mathematical cognition: how children or artificial systems use and acquire mathematical concepts, how mathematical intuition and expertise develop and interact, and how studying the heuristics and abstractions that AI systems develop may deepen understanding of human mathematical cognition. The first week offers core lectures on mathematical methods for neural network analysis and on key connectionist models linked to experimental observations; the second week offers frontiers lectures. Participants also join tutorials, poster sessions and contributed talks, work in teams on research projects that they pitch in week one and present at the end, and co-author peer-reviewed lecture notes collected into a special issue. The school is directed by Erin Grant (University of Alberta & Amii) and Stefano Sarao Mannelli (Chalmers University of Technology & University of Gothenburg), with SueYeon Chung (Harvard University & Flatiron Institute) and Andrew Saxe (University College London) as advisors. Applications open on 1 February 2027 and close on 1 April 2027 (AoE); first-round outcomes are communicated on 17 May 2027.