ERC GROW-AI: Growing Machines Capable of Rapid Learning in Unknown Environments
The Doctoral Programme in Information Engineering and Computer Science (IECS) organizes the fifth edition of the PI Stories, a series of seminars aimed at providing the opportunity for PhD students to learn the success stories of some of the most talented researchers in the world.
Abstract
Despite significant advances in AI, especially neural networks, these systems still lag behind even simple biological intelligence. They require many trials to learn, lack common sense, and often fail with minor environmental changes. As a result, the promise of autonomous machines —like dishwashing robots or search-and-rescue agents— remains unrealized. Building on insights from how biological nervous systems grow and self-organize, GROW-AI aims to build machines with more general intelligence, capable of rapid adaptation.
About the Speaker
Sebastian Risi is a Full Professor at the IT University of Copenhagen where he directs the Creative AI Lab, and co-directs the Robotics, Evolution and Art Lab (REAL). Sebastian received his PhD from the University of Central Florida in 2012. He has won several international scientific awards, including multiple best paper awards, an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2022, the Distinguished Young Investigator in Artificial Life 2018 award, a Google Faculty Research Award in 2019, and an Amazon Research Award in 2020. His interdisciplinary work has been published in major machine learning, artificial life, and human-computer interaction conferences and has been covered by various media outlets, including Science, New Scientist, Wired, Fast Company, and The Register.