Topics in Intelligence: World Models and Social Reasoning

This workshop is dedicated to collaborative, interdisciplinary fundamental research at the intersection of the theory of computation, artificial intelligence, psychology, and neuroscience. The overarching goals are twofold. First, we aim to advance our understanding of natural intelligence through theoretical and computational modeling. Second, we pursue a richer understanding of how insights about natural cognition and behavior can ground and inspire the development of artificial intelligence.

Achieving this integration between computational and experimental methods demands cross-disciplinary collaboration. A central aim of the workshop is therefore to catalyze sustained interactions that foster new collaborations and contribute meaningfully to academic discourse across the theory of computation, AI, psychology, and neuroscience.

This year, the workshop will focus on two closely related and rapidly emerging research directions with strong potential for near-term breakthroughs: the construction of internal world models and the mechanisms underlying social interaction and social reasoning. A key component of the workshop will be the formulation of new, well-posed problems in the theory of computation inspired by these aspects of intelligence, with the goal of shaping future theoretical and empirical research.

This workshop is a follow up to the AI, Psychology, and Neuroscience 2024 Summer cluster