Ken Forbus
@kforbus.bsky.social
Northwestern professor, AI & Cognitive Science
Wangcheng Xu shows how a hybrid system incorporating CogSketch, a symbolic model of high-level human vision, with off-the-shelf deep learning vision components can be used for diagram understanding. Competitive with VLMs while providing inspectable representations.
www.cogsys.org/proceedings/...
www.cogsys.org/proceedings/...
www.cogsys.org
November 3, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Wangcheng Xu shows how a hybrid system incorporating CogSketch, a symbolic model of high-level human vision, with off-the-shelf deep learning vision components can be used for diagram understanding. Competitive with VLMs while providing inspectable representations.
www.cogsys.org/proceedings/...
www.cogsys.org/proceedings/...
Because Disney+ does not respect the First Amendment, i.e. taking Jimmy Kimmel off the air on ABC when all he did was tell the (inconvenient) truth, I've cancelled it and Hulu, which they also own.
September 21, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Because Disney+ does not respect the First Amendment, i.e. taking Jimmy Kimmel off the air on ABC when all he did was tell the (inconvenient) truth, I've cancelled it and Hulu, which they also own.
Hot off the presses: A journal article on our Hybrid Primal Sketch research has just appeared in Cognitive Systems Research.
You can download it for free until 10/28/25 at
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lh9w4xrDw...
Enjoy!
You can download it for free until 10/28/25 at
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lh9w4xrDw...
Enjoy!
August 29, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Hot off the presses: A journal article on our Hybrid Primal Sketch research has just appeared in Cognitive Systems Research.
You can download it for free until 10/28/25 at
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lh9w4xrDw...
Enjoy!
You can download it for free until 10/28/25 at
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lh9w4xrDw...
Enjoy!
The journal version of our paper, “Towards knowledge autonomy in the Companion cognitive architecture”, is now available. It describes how we handle provenance and incremental learning of knowledge.
Journal version: doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
ACS conference version: arxiv.org/pdf/2407.06401
Journal version: doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
ACS conference version: arxiv.org/pdf/2407.06401
Redirecting
doi.org
July 10, 2025 at 3:45 PM
The journal version of our paper, “Towards knowledge autonomy in the Companion cognitive architecture”, is now available. It describes how we handle provenance and incremental learning of knowledge.
Journal version: doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
ACS conference version: arxiv.org/pdf/2407.06401
Journal version: doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
ACS conference version: arxiv.org/pdf/2407.06401
Just saw the first episode of Murderbot. Wow. I’m a big fan of the books, this is a great take. Kudos to @marthawells.com
May 29, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Just saw the first episode of Murderbot. Wow. I’m a big fan of the books, this is a great take. Kudos to @marthawells.com
It seems like some of our current government officials could benefit from these…
Hey, got some free cycles this summer? Did you know Harvard offers FREE online courses in the U.S. Constitution, Public policy, Civic Engagement in Constitutional Democracy and more? Share widely and get smarter this summer.
pll.harvard.edu/subject/gove...
pll.harvard.edu/subject/gove...
Government | Harvard University
Browse the latest Government courses from Harvard University.
pll.harvard.edu
May 25, 2025 at 5:09 AM
It seems like some of our current government officials could benefit from these…
We saw The Antiquities at the Goodman tonight. Museum from a post-human era and how it got there. Well thought out. As the docents say at the end, “Thank you, Humans”
www.goodmantheatre.org/show/the-ant...
www.goodmantheatre.org/show/the-ant...
The Antiquities - Goodman Theatre
The official show site for the 24/25 Season production of Antiquities written by Jordan Harrison and directed by David Cromer at Goodman Theatre
www.goodmantheatre.org
May 25, 2025 at 5:01 AM
We saw The Antiquities at the Goodman tonight. Museum from a post-human era and how it got there. Well thought out. As the docents say at the end, “Thank you, Humans”
www.goodmantheatre.org/show/the-ant...
www.goodmantheatre.org/show/the-ant...
My interview on the STEM-Talk podcast came out yesterday. STEM-Talk is one of my favorite podcasts, so I really enjoyed being involved in making an episode. IHMC's production team is terrific. Ken Ford and James Allen were the interviewers, who were perfect. www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/epi...
Episode 181: Ken Forbus talks about AI and his development of the Structure Mapping Engine
Our guest today is Dr. Ken Forbus, the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Computer Science and a Professor of Education at Northwestern University. Joining Dr.
www.ihmc.us
May 14, 2025 at 4:06 PM
My interview on the STEM-Talk podcast came out yesterday. STEM-Talk is one of my favorite podcasts, so I really enjoyed being involved in making an episode. IHMC's production team is terrific. Ken Ford and James Allen were the interviewers, who were perfect. www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/epi...
Some inquiries about graduate school are exciting. Others not.
This is the saddest:
"[...] my recent work has received strong feedback from researchers and AI systems alike, including ChatGPT, which evaluated it highly."
This is the saddest:
"[...] my recent work has received strong feedback from researchers and AI systems alike, including ChatGPT, which evaluated it highly."
May 12, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Some inquiries about graduate school are exciting. Others not.
This is the saddest:
"[...] my recent work has received strong feedback from researchers and AI systems alike, including ChatGPT, which evaluated it highly."
This is the saddest:
"[...] my recent work has received strong feedback from researchers and AI systems alike, including ChatGPT, which evaluated it highly."
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult... another downside of training LLMs to pander #ai #misinformation
People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies
Marriages and families are falling apart as people are sucked into fantasy worlds of spiritual prophecy by AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT
www.rollingstone.com
May 5, 2025 at 6:15 PM
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult... another downside of training LLMs to pander #ai #misinformation
Kudos to Harvard for fighting back
www.harvard.edu/president/ne... #HigherEd #AcademicFreedom #FreeSpeech
www.harvard.edu/president/ne... #HigherEd #AcademicFreedom #FreeSpeech
The Promise of American Higher Education
No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue
www.harvard.edu
April 14, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Kudos to Harvard for fighting back
www.harvard.edu/president/ne... #HigherEd #AcademicFreedom #FreeSpeech
www.harvard.edu/president/ne... #HigherEd #AcademicFreedom #FreeSpeech
Northwestern just got hit by the T**** administration with a $790M pause in federal funding. Which for my lab means a stop-work order for five grad students and my programmer. No idea how long this will last. But I do hope NU pushes back. This sort of thing is wrong. #Northwestern #AI #CogSci
April 9, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Northwestern just got hit by the T**** administration with a $790M pause in federal funding. Which for my lab means a stop-work order for five grad students and my programmer. No idea how long this will last. But I do hope NU pushes back. This sort of thing is wrong. #Northwestern #AI #CogSci
Say Hello to Your New Colleague, the AI Agent by @Benioff
Don’t know what he’s smoking but it’s fairly hype-drenched output.
Don’t know what he’s smoking but it’s fairly hype-drenched output.
April 5, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Say Hello to Your New Colleague, the AI Agent by @Benioff
Don’t know what he’s smoking but it’s fairly hype-drenched output.
Don’t know what he’s smoking but it’s fairly hype-drenched output.
Today we published the report from the AAAI 2025 Presidential Panel on the Future of AI Research. You can download it from here: aaai.org/about-aaai/p.... It's designed to be readable by a general audience. Enjoy!
AAAI 2025 Presidential Panel on the Future of AI Research - AAAI
The AAAI President has commissioned a study to explore and address potential long-term societal influences of AI research and development.
aaai.org
March 2, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Today we published the report from the AAAI 2025 Presidential Panel on the Future of AI Research. You can download it from here: aaai.org/about-aaai/p.... It's designed to be readable by a general audience. Enjoy!
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/o...
Former Sec of the Air Force calls out Trump as declaring war against the rule of law.
Former Sec of the Air Force calls out Trump as declaring war against the rule of law.
Opinion | America Has a Rogue President
The firing of three judge advocate generals is one more element of this administration’s attack on the rule of law.
www.nytimes.com
February 25, 2025 at 2:46 AM
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/o...
Former Sec of the Air Force calls out Trump as declaring war against the rule of law.
Former Sec of the Air Force calls out Trump as declaring war against the rule of law.
It is my pleasure to announce that Will Hancock, one of my PhD students, successfully defended his PhD thesis today.
February 19, 2025 at 3:49 AM
It is my pleasure to announce that Will Hancock, one of my PhD students, successfully defended his PhD thesis today.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
I had figured out economic inequality as a cause, but I didn’t know about how employment was being overcounted. H/T @fatsam.bsky.social
I had figured out economic inequality as a cause, but I didn’t know about how employment was being overcounted. H/T @fatsam.bsky.social
Voters Were Right About the Economy. The Data Was Wrong.
Here’s why unemployment is higher, wages are lower and growth less robust than government statistics suggest.
www.politico.com
February 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
I had figured out economic inequality as a cause, but I didn’t know about how employment was being overcounted. H/T @fatsam.bsky.social
I had figured out economic inequality as a cause, but I didn’t know about how employment was being overcounted. H/T @fatsam.bsky.social
Frustrated trying to call your senators or representatives? One of mine clued me into their web site, which is easy. Go to www.<senator name>. Senate.gov, or <rep name>.house.gov as appropriate, click on their contact or opinion link. Unlike their phones, available 24/7. Good luck to us all.
February 13, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Frustrated trying to call your senators or representatives? One of mine clued me into their web site, which is easy. Go to www.<senator name>. Senate.gov, or <rep name>.house.gov as appropriate, click on their contact or opinion link. Unlike their phones, available 24/7. Good luck to us all.
open.substack.com/pub/dickasli...
For those unfamiliar with indirect costs at universities, here’s a useful explanation
For those unfamiliar with indirect costs at universities, here’s a useful explanation
Are we paying too much for biomedical research?
Trump's attack on NIH
open.substack.com
February 9, 2025 at 7:11 PM
open.substack.com/pub/dickasli...
For those unfamiliar with indirect costs at universities, here’s a useful explanation
For those unfamiliar with indirect costs at universities, here’s a useful explanation