2015 Annual International Conference on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures

BICA Society and previous conferences: http://bicasociety.org/.

Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures (BICAs) are computational frameworks for building intelligent agents that are inspired by biological intelligence. These agents serve both as theoretical models (e.g., in cognitive science, neuroscience, economics and social sciences), and as intelligent controllers for autonomous systems (robots, games characters, smart human/machine interfaces, health applications, etc).

Biological intelligent systems (animals, including humans) have many qualities that are often lacking in artificially designed systems; their purpose goes beyond interacting with a closed environment or solving predefined logical problems. At the time when our understanding of natural intelligence is exploding, thanks to modern brain imaging, ethological studies, and the development of cognitive models mapping brain structures with functions, our ability to learn lessons from nature and to build biologically inspired intelligent systems has never been greater. At the same time, the growth in computer science and technology has unleashed enough design creativity and computational power to generate an explosion of applications in multiple domains.

Research in Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures contributes to the development of these applications by addressing the numerous questions raised by the problem of replicating natural intelligence – specifically, the complexity of higher cognitive abilities of the human mind – in an artificial system (widely known as the BICA Challenge). These questions are trans-disciplinary in nature and promise to yield multi-directional flow of understanding between all the involved disciplines.

Points of Contact: Amélie Cordier and Olivier Georgeon.

Photos by Jacques Saadé.