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DTSTART:20251026T030000
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UID:calendar.104993.field_date.0@www.iast.fr
DTSTAMP:20260910T160046Z
CREATED:20251128T132001Z
DESCRIPTION:Kelsey Allen (University of British Columbia)\, “Physical probl
 em-solving in minds and machines”\, IAST General Seminar\, Toulouse: IAST\
 , March 10\, 2026\, 11:30–12:30\, room Auditorium 4 (First floor - TSE Bui
 lding).\n\nCreating and re-purposing objects as tools are universal human 
 capabilities. However\, it appears that only a handful of other animals ex
 hibit these behaviors\, and these are often regarded as a hallmark of adva
 nced intelligence. In this talk\, I will discuss my research aiming to ill
 uminate the computational and cognitive foundations of this kind of flexib
 le physical problem-solving across multiple timescales of experience. By c
 ombining perspectives from cognitive science\, machine learning\, and robo
 tics\, my research suggests that the flexibility and efficiency of human p
 hysical problem-solving is supported by combining structured knowledge wit
 h learning\, rather than choosing one or the other. To explain human flexi
 bility\, actions must be structured in relational\, object-oriented ways. 
 To explain human efficiency\, mental simulation in the form of intuitive p
 hysics is critical\, as relational actions alone are not enough. With thes
 e structures in place\, learning guides how we search through and adapt ou
 r actions over multiple timescales -- either over just a few attempts with
 in a problem\, over related problems with shared relational structure\, or
  over a lifetime of embodied experience. I will conclude with recent\, unp
 ublished work exploring how these principles extend to tool creation and\,
  time permitting\, how our expectations of structure guide the exploration
  of the physical world.
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260310T113000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260310T123000
LAST-MODIFIED:20260424T002001Z
LOCATION:Toulouse: IAST\, March 10\, 2026\, 11:30–12:30\, room Auditorium 4
  (First floor - TSE Building)
SUMMARY:IAST General Seminar
URL;TYPE=URI:https://www.iast.fr/seminars/2026-physical-problem-solving-min
 ds-and-machines
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