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Virtual LANS Seminar
March 3, 2021 @ 10:30 - 11:30 CST
Seminar Title: The Scope and Limits of Simulation in Automated Reasoning
Speaker: Ernest Davis, Professor of Computer Science, New York University
Date/Time: March 3, 2021 / 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: See meeting URL on the cels-seminars website (requires Argonne login)
Description: In scientific computing and in realistic graphic animation, simulation — that is, step-by-step calculation of the complete trajectory of a physical system — is one of the most common and important modes of calculation. In this talk, I will address the scope and limits of the use of simulation, with respect to AI tasks that involve high-level physical reasoning. I will argue that, in many cases, simulation can play at most a limited role. Simulation is most effective when the task is prediction, when complete information is available, when a reasonably high-quality theory is available, and when the range of scales involved, both temporal and spatial, is not extreme. When these conditions do not hold, simulation is less effective or entirely inappropriate. I will discuss twelve features of physical reasoning problems that pose challenges for simulation-based reasoning. I will briefly survey alternative techniques for physical reasoning that do not rely on simulation.
This is joint work with Gary Marcus.
Please note that the meeting URL for this event can be seen on the cels-seminars website, which requires an Argonne login.