If you haven't noticed I've taken a bit of time off from uploading articles. My wife and I recently brought a new life into this world and I took a pause on finding the latest news for this blog. Things are starting to get back to normal again and I thought I would take the opportunity to be inspired with this topic for all of you.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days, from smart speakers to self-driving cars. AI can do amazing things, but it still has a lot to learn from humans, especially babies.
Babies are natural learners. They explore the world around them, observe how things work, and try to make sense of it all. They are curious, flexible, and adaptable. They can learn from any situation, even if they see something just once.
AI, on the other hand, often relies on large amounts of data to learn. It can get stuck in fixed patterns and struggle to deal with new or complex situations. It can also miss the bigger picture and the reasons behind human actions.
That’s why some researchers are looking at how babies learn and applying those insights to AI. They have identified three principles that could help AI become more human-like in its learning:
In-built preferences: Babies have innate preferences that guide their attention and learning from the start. For example, they prefer to look at faces, voices, and movements. AI could also benefit from having some initial biases that help it focus on the most relevant and meaningful information.
Richer datasets: Babies learn from rich and diverse sensory experiences that involve sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. They also learn from social interactions with other people. AI could also improve its learning by using more varied and naturalistic data sources that capture the complexity and context of the real world.
Developmental trajectory: Babies learn in stages, gradually building on their previous knowledge and skills. They also adapt their learning strategies to their changing abilities and goals. AI could also follow a developmental path, where it learns different things at different times and changes its networks and methods as it grows.
By following these principles, AI could become more efficient, flexible, and commonsense in its learning. It could also better understand and interact with humans, who are ultimately its creators and users. Babies can teach AI a lot, and AI can make our lives better. That’s a win-win situation for everyone!
Check out this blog post about a specific example of a team that is teaching an AI to learn like a baby. And stay tuned for the latest news in artificial intelligence!