Dota Tianai Dong
@dotadotadota.bsky.social
Phd student at @MPI_NL@Donders, working on multimodal semantic representations in 🖥️ and 👶🧠 https://tianaidong.github.io/
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Get ready to submit your 8-pagers!
🚨 #CCN2026 Proceedings submissions are open!
CCN 2026 again features an 8-page Proceedings track (alongside extended abstracts). Accepted papers will appear in CCN-Proceedings (CCN‑P) with DOIs on OpenReview.
CCN 2026 again features an 8-page Proceedings track (alongside extended abstracts). Accepted papers will appear in CCN-Proceedings (CCN‑P) with DOIs on OpenReview.
January 28, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Get ready to submit your 8-pagers!
Missed the Re-Align hackathon at ICLR or CCN 2025 — or want more? 🙂 Re-Align is back at ICLR 2026 🚀 Beyond the paper track, we’re launching a persistent shared-task challenge + challenge paper track. Can’t wait to see your creative & critical takes on representational alignment 🔥🥳
🎉 Re-Align is back for its 4th edition at ICLR 2026!
📣 We invite submissions on representational alignment, spanning ML, Neuroscience, CogSci, and related fields.
📝 Tracks: Short (≤5p), Long (≤10p), Challenge (blog)
⏰ Deadline: Feb 5, 2026 for papers
🔗 representational-alignment.github.io/2026/
📣 We invite submissions on representational alignment, spanning ML, Neuroscience, CogSci, and related fields.
📝 Tracks: Short (≤5p), Long (≤10p), Challenge (blog)
⏰ Deadline: Feb 5, 2026 for papers
🔗 representational-alignment.github.io/2026/
January 8, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Missed the Re-Align hackathon at ICLR or CCN 2025 — or want more? 🙂 Re-Align is back at ICLR 2026 🚀 Beyond the paper track, we’re launching a persistent shared-task challenge + challenge paper track. Can’t wait to see your creative & critical takes on representational alignment 🔥🥳
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Thrilled to start 2026 as faculty in Psych & CS
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
December 6, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Thrilled to start 2026 as faculty in Psych & CS
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
🌱 The Donders Research Stimulation Funds give early-career scientists the freedom to build something new from the bottom up like the #Neuro-#AI #Focus #Group.
A new round of the Donders Research Stimulation Funds is open until December 1st. 👇
www.ru.nl/en/donders-i...
A new round of the Donders Research Stimulation Funds is open until December 1st. 👇
www.ru.nl/en/donders-i...
Donders’ Research Stimulation Funds: call for new collaborations and focus groups | Radboud University
At the Donders Institute, new ideas often begin at the crossroads of disciplines. Through its Research Stimulation Funds, the institute encourages researchers to explore collaborations.
www.ru.nl
November 14, 2025 at 8:48 AM
🌱 The Donders Research Stimulation Funds give early-career scientists the freedom to build something new from the bottom up like the #Neuro-#AI #Focus #Group.
A new round of the Donders Research Stimulation Funds is open until December 1st. 👇
www.ru.nl/en/donders-i...
A new round of the Donders Research Stimulation Funds is open until December 1st. 👇
www.ru.nl/en/donders-i...
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
🥳 I am incredibly humbled and grateful to share that our work, "Aligning machine and human visual representations across abstraction levels," has been published today in @nature.com ⬇️
What aspects of human knowledge do vision models like CLIP fail to capture, and how can we improve them? We suggest models miss key global organization; aligning them makes them more robust. Check out LukasMuttenthaler's work, finally out (in Nature!?) www.nature.com/articles/s41... + our blog! 1/3
Aligning machine and human visual representations across abstraction levels - Nature
Aligning foundation models with human judgments enables them to more accurately approximate human behaviour and uncertainty across various levels of visual abstraction, while additionally improving th...
www.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:05 PM
🥳 I am incredibly humbled and grateful to share that our work, "Aligning machine and human visual representations across abstraction levels," has been published today in @nature.com ⬇️
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Introducing CorText: a framework that fuses brain data directly into a large language model, allowing for interactive neural readout using natural language.
tl;dr: you can now chat with a brain scan 🧠💬
1/n
tl;dr: you can now chat with a brain scan 🧠💬
1/n
November 3, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Introducing CorText: a framework that fuses brain data directly into a large language model, allowing for interactive neural readout using natural language.
tl;dr: you can now chat with a brain scan 🧠💬
1/n
tl;dr: you can now chat with a brain scan 🧠💬
1/n
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Our paper in annual review of dev psych is out! It's a big-picture look at the development of social cognition from a computational perspective: compdevlab.yale.edu/docs/2025/an...
compdevlab.yale.edu
October 9, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Our paper in annual review of dev psych is out! It's a big-picture look at the development of social cognition from a computational perspective: compdevlab.yale.edu/docs/2025/an...
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
So excited and honored to receive an ERC Starting Grant for the project BrainAlign!! BrainAlign will bring LLMs closer to human understanding by directly aligning them with the human brain.
Stay tuned for our findings, and multiple postdoc and PhD openings in the coming years!
Stay tuned for our findings, and multiple postdoc and PhD openings in the coming years!
September 4, 2025 at 4:21 PM
So excited and honored to receive an ERC Starting Grant for the project BrainAlign!! BrainAlign will bring LLMs closer to human understanding by directly aligning them with the human brain.
Stay tuned for our findings, and multiple postdoc and PhD openings in the coming years!
Stay tuned for our findings, and multiple postdoc and PhD openings in the coming years!
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
I’m recruiting committee members for the Technical Program Committee at #CCN2026.
Please apply if you want to help make submission, review & selection of contributed work (Extended Abstracts & Proceedings) more useful for everyone! 🌐
Helps to have: programming/communications/editorial experience.
Please apply if you want to help make submission, review & selection of contributed work (Extended Abstracts & Proceedings) more useful for everyone! 🌐
Helps to have: programming/communications/editorial experience.
Fill out the form here to be involved in #CCN2026
tinyurl.com/ccn26committee
And definitely fill out the #CCN2025 feedback form!
tinyurl.com/ccn25partici...
tinyurl.com/ccn26committee
And definitely fill out the #CCN2025 feedback form!
tinyurl.com/ccn25partici...
CCN 2025 Participant Survey
❗ This is the general CCN post-conference survey. For the application form for positions on the committees at CCN 2026, please see the CCN 2026 Committee Application.
Thank you for participating in C...
tinyurl.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I’m recruiting committee members for the Technical Program Committee at #CCN2026.
Please apply if you want to help make submission, review & selection of contributed work (Extended Abstracts & Proceedings) more useful for everyone! 🌐
Helps to have: programming/communications/editorial experience.
Please apply if you want to help make submission, review & selection of contributed work (Extended Abstracts & Proceedings) more useful for everyone! 🌐
Helps to have: programming/communications/editorial experience.
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Nice write-up on the top-performing models of Algonauts 2025 competition by @humanscotti.bsky.social
paulscotti.substack.com/p/insights-f...
None of the teams trained the models from scratch, mainly relied on pre-trained foundation models, and ensembling seemed to be the key ingredient.
🧠🤖
paulscotti.substack.com/p/insights-f...
None of the teams trained the models from scratch, mainly relied on pre-trained foundation models, and ensembling seemed to be the key ingredient.
🧠🤖
Insights from the Algonauts 2025 Winners
What did we learn from a contest to predict fMRI brain activity to movie viewing?
paulscotti.substack.com
August 18, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Nice write-up on the top-performing models of Algonauts 2025 competition by @humanscotti.bsky.social
paulscotti.substack.com/p/insights-f...
None of the teams trained the models from scratch, mainly relied on pre-trained foundation models, and ensembling seemed to be the key ingredient.
🧠🤖
paulscotti.substack.com/p/insights-f...
None of the teams trained the models from scratch, mainly relied on pre-trained foundation models, and ensembling seemed to be the key ingredient.
🧠🤖
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Somewhat exhausted but very happily and proudly looking back at #CCN2025 & ready to pass the torch to NEW Amsterdam for #CCN2026 🥳Please fill out the survey 👇 to give input to the organizing team led by @neurograce.bsky.social and @toddgureckis.bsky.social @NYU!
The rumors are true! #CCN2026 will be held at NYU. @toddgureckis.bsky.social and I will be executive-chairing. Get in touch if you want to be involved!
August 15, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Somewhat exhausted but very happily and proudly looking back at #CCN2025 & ready to pass the torch to NEW Amsterdam for #CCN2026 🥳Please fill out the survey 👇 to give input to the organizing team led by @neurograce.bsky.social and @toddgureckis.bsky.social @NYU!
Join us now for a collaborative hackathon 🤗
Join us for the Re-Align^{3} community event & hackathon at #CCN2025 in room A2.11! There will be lots of 🌶️ discussions on 🧠🤖
August 14, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Join us now for a collaborative hackathon 🤗
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Our #CCN2025 GAC debate w/ @gretatuckute.bsky.social, Gemma Roig (www.cvai.cs.uni-frankfurt.de), Jacqueline Gottlieb (gottlieblab.com), Klaus Oberauer, @mschrimpf.bsky.social & @brittawestner.bsky.social asks:
📊 What benchmarks are useful for cognitive science? 💭
2025.ccneuro.org/gac
📊 What benchmarks are useful for cognitive science? 💭
2025.ccneuro.org/gac
August 13, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Our #CCN2025 GAC debate w/ @gretatuckute.bsky.social, Gemma Roig (www.cvai.cs.uni-frankfurt.de), Jacqueline Gottlieb (gottlieblab.com), Klaus Oberauer, @mschrimpf.bsky.social & @brittawestner.bsky.social asks:
📊 What benchmarks are useful for cognitive science? 💭
2025.ccneuro.org/gac
📊 What benchmarks are useful for cognitive science? 💭
2025.ccneuro.org/gac
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
What are the organizing dimensions of language processing?
We show that voxel responses during comprehension are organized along 2 main axes: processing difficulty & meaning abstractness—revealing an interpretable, topographic representational basis for language processing shared across individuals
We show that voxel responses during comprehension are organized along 2 main axes: processing difficulty & meaning abstractness—revealing an interpretable, topographic representational basis for language processing shared across individuals
May 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
What are the organizing dimensions of language processing?
We show that voxel responses during comprehension are organized along 2 main axes: processing difficulty & meaning abstractness—revealing an interpretable, topographic representational basis for language processing shared across individuals
We show that voxel responses during comprehension are organized along 2 main axes: processing difficulty & meaning abstractness—revealing an interpretable, topographic representational basis for language processing shared across individuals
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
New preprint, w/ @predictivebrain.bsky.social !
we've found that visual cortex, even when just viewing natural scenes, predicts *higher-level* visual features
The aligns with developments in ML, but challenges some assumptions about early sensory cortex
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
we've found that visual cortex, even when just viewing natural scenes, predicts *higher-level* visual features
The aligns with developments in ML, but challenges some assumptions about early sensory cortex
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Higher-level spatial prediction in natural vision across mouse visual cortex
Theories of predictive processing propose that sensory systems constantly predict incoming signals, based on spatial and temporal context. However, evidence for prediction in sensory cortex largely co...
www.biorxiv.org
May 23, 2025 at 11:39 AM
New preprint, w/ @predictivebrain.bsky.social !
we've found that visual cortex, even when just viewing natural scenes, predicts *higher-level* visual features
The aligns with developments in ML, but challenges some assumptions about early sensory cortex
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
we've found that visual cortex, even when just viewing natural scenes, predicts *higher-level* visual features
The aligns with developments in ML, but challenges some assumptions about early sensory cortex
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This year, we're organizing travel and caregiver awards to help make CCN 2025 more accessible for those who might otherwise find it difficult to attend. If this kind of support would make a difference for you—or someone you know—we’d love for you to apply or pass the word along 🙌
Joining us for CCN2025 in Amsterdam? Early registration discount is still available until the 23rd May!
2025.ccneuro.org/meeting-regi...
Need financial support? We got travel awards & caregiver grants available:
2025.ccneuro.org/travel-awards/
2025.ccneuro.org/caregiver-aw...
2025.ccneuro.org/meeting-regi...
Need financial support? We got travel awards & caregiver grants available:
2025.ccneuro.org/travel-awards/
2025.ccneuro.org/caregiver-aw...
Meeting Registration
2025.ccneuro.org
May 9, 2025 at 12:47 PM
This year, we're organizing travel and caregiver awards to help make CCN 2025 more accessible for those who might otherwise find it difficult to attend. If this kind of support would make a difference for you—or someone you know—we’d love for you to apply or pass the word along 🙌
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Interested in the evolution of human language and in understanding the pressures that shape languages today? Come do a PhD with me! Fully funded PhD position available in my group @mpi-nl.bsky.social, application deadline June 2nd:
www.mpi.nl/career-educa...
www.mpi.nl/career-educa...
Fully funded 4-year PhD position in Language Evolution | Max Planck InstituteMax Planck Institute for psycholinguistics
www.mpi.nl
April 30, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Interested in the evolution of human language and in understanding the pressures that shape languages today? Come do a PhD with me! Fully funded PhD position available in my group @mpi-nl.bsky.social, application deadline June 2nd:
www.mpi.nl/career-educa...
www.mpi.nl/career-educa...
That’s a wrap for Re²-Align 🤖 🧠👤 at #ICLR2025 🦁🥳— thanks for being part of it! We’re probably just getting started… see you all at Re³-Align🌷😉
April 28, 2025 at 3:09 PM
That’s a wrap for Re²-Align 🤖 🧠👤 at #ICLR2025 🦁🥳— thanks for being part of it! We’re probably just getting started… see you all at Re³-Align🌷😉
🔥🔥🔥
Here’s an extended version of my PhD defense talk about our work on *representational alignment between humans 🧠 and machines 🤖 for computer vision* that I gave two weeks ago at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
www.cbs.mpg.de/cbs-coconut/...
www.cbs.mpg.de/cbs-coconut/...
video-muttenthaler
Lukas Muttenthaler (Google DeepMind, TU Berlin)
www.cbs.mpg.de
April 11, 2025 at 11:56 AM
🔥🔥🔥
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
One week left to apply!
We'll have so much exciting data for projects: for example, neuropixel data from humans while they listen to sentences courtesy of @shaileejain.bsky.social, Eddie Chang, and his group.
We'll have so much exciting data for projects: for example, neuropixel data from humans while they listen to sentences courtesy of @shaileejain.bsky.social, Eddie Chang, and his group.
Really excited for this 3 week NeuroAI summer school in Lisbon!
We have course faculty from a range of neuro domains (language, vision, decision making, memory), and neuro levels (low level to cognitive). There will also be a project advised by our exciting lineup of course faculty!
Come join us!
We have course faculty from a range of neuro domains (language, vision, decision making, memory), and neuro levels (low level to cognitive). There will also be a project advised by our exciting lineup of course faculty!
Come join us!
🚀 Applications are OPEN for the CAJAL NeuroAI course!
Learn how AI & deep learning help us model brain activity & behavior. Work with experts, get hands-on training & join a global network!
📅 Apply by March 7
🔗 loom.ly/xg_uRKE
#NeuroAI #DeepLearning #Neuroscience
Learn how AI & deep learning help us model brain activity & behavior. Work with experts, get hands-on training & join a global network!
📅 Apply by March 7
🔗 loom.ly/xg_uRKE
#NeuroAI #DeepLearning #Neuroscience
February 28, 2025 at 1:05 PM
One week left to apply!
We'll have so much exciting data for projects: for example, neuropixel data from humans while they listen to sentences courtesy of @shaileejain.bsky.social, Eddie Chang, and his group.
We'll have so much exciting data for projects: for example, neuropixel data from humans while they listen to sentences courtesy of @shaileejain.bsky.social, Eddie Chang, and his group.
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Re-posting is appreciated: We have a fully funded PhD position in CMC lab @cmc-lab.bsky.social (at @tudresden_de). You can use forms.gle/qiAv5NZ871kv... to send your application and find more information. Deadline is April 30. Find more about CMC lab: cmclab.org and email me if you have questions.
forms.gle
February 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Re-posting is appreciated: We have a fully funded PhD position in CMC lab @cmc-lab.bsky.social (at @tudresden_de). You can use forms.gle/qiAv5NZ871kv... to send your application and find more information. Deadline is April 30. Find more about CMC lab: cmclab.org and email me if you have questions.
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Happy to announce that the Analytical Connectionism summer school is back!
This year we'll dive into "bias" across ML, Neuroscience, and Psychology.
📆 Aug 25-Sep 5
🗺️ London, UK
🌐 www.analytical-connectionism.net/school/2025/
Applications are open!
This year we'll dive into "bias" across ML, Neuroscience, and Psychology.
📆 Aug 25-Sep 5
🗺️ London, UK
🌐 www.analytical-connectionism.net/school/2025/
Applications are open!
February 5, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Happy to announce that the Analytical Connectionism summer school is back!
This year we'll dive into "bias" across ML, Neuroscience, and Psychology.
📆 Aug 25-Sep 5
🗺️ London, UK
🌐 www.analytical-connectionism.net/school/2025/
Applications are open!
This year we'll dive into "bias" across ML, Neuroscience, and Psychology.
📆 Aug 25-Sep 5
🗺️ London, UK
🌐 www.analytical-connectionism.net/school/2025/
Applications are open!
Final Call for Submissions! ⏳ Don't miss your chance to present at the Re-Align Workshop @iclr-conf.bsky.social ! We welcome submissions from ICML, CogSci, and beyond.
Deadline extended till Feb. 5th!
Our representational alignment workshop returns to #ICLR2025! Submit your work on how ML/cogsci/neuro systems represent the world & what shapes these representations 💭🧠🤖
w/ @thisismyhat.bsky.social @dotadotadota.bsky.social, @sucholutsky.bsky.social @lukasmut.bsky.social @siddsuresh97.bsky.social
w/ @thisismyhat.bsky.social @dotadotadota.bsky.social, @sucholutsky.bsky.social @lukasmut.bsky.social @siddsuresh97.bsky.social
February 4, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Final Call for Submissions! ⏳ Don't miss your chance to present at the Re-Align Workshop @iclr-conf.bsky.social ! We welcome submissions from ICML, CogSci, and beyond.
Reposted by Dota Tianai Dong
Last year, we funded 250 authors and other contributors to attend #ICLR2024 in Vienna as part of this program. If you or your organization want to directly support contributors this year, please get in touch! Hope to see you in Singapore at #ICLR2025!
Financial Assistance applications are now open! If you face financial barriers to attending ICLR 2025, we encourage you to apply. The program offers prepay and reimbursement options. Applications are due March 2nd with decisions announced March 9th. iclr.cc/Conferences/...
ICLR 2024 Financial Assistance
iclr.cc
January 21, 2025 at 3:52 PM