The STEM Lecture: Science vs art (parts vs wholes) with a whiff of Artificial Intelligence by resident John Kauer will be given at 10:30 am in the Performance Hall and streaming. This talk is part of the STEM series, but I am directing it to the diverse audience at “Brookhaven University” (so named by Larry Bacow), an eclectic group with broad-ranging interests that span the sciences and the arts. To approach understanding of such a complex structure as the brain, scientists use simpler animal models (than the human) and intuitively accessible pathways like vision, trying to identify basic structural and functional principles which can be extrapolated to other brain structures. Some of the most interesting big, global human brain functions like intelligence, consciousness, and memory are often those most difficult to study. During my career I have worked on a system that, although perhaps not immediately obvious, provides advantages for elucidating various complex functions. That system is the sense of smell or olfaction. This talk tries to give you a glimpse into how the study of olfaction may provide insight into aspects of both real and artificial intelligence systems.
