Abstract
An important constraint on cognitive systems, human or robotic, is that they inhabit an unboundedly complex world. Coping with that complexity requires reasoning with simplifying models. These models must be carefully chosen to avoid being blind-sided by "unknown unknowns." My career has concentrated on foundational domains of commonsense knowledge, where the ability to represent and use incomplete knowledge is particularly important. In this talk, I focus first on commonsense knowledge of navigational space: the "cognitive map". Then, I discuss commonsense knowledge of ethics ("what is OK to do?"), and its role in the survival and thriving of individuals and of the societies they belong to.
Short Biography
Benjamin Kuipers is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. He was previously an endowed Professor in Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, where he served as Department Chair. He received his B.A. from Swarthmore College, his Ph.D. from MIT, and he is a Fellow of AAAI, IEEE, and AAAS. His research in artificial intelligence and robotics has focused on the representation, learning, and use of foundational domains of knowledge, including knowledge of space, dynamical change, objects, and actions. He is currently investigating ethics as a foundational domain of knowledge for robots and other AIs that may act as members of human society.