Assume we are walking through the world and see a bunch of objects. Some
of these objects are ravens, and all of the ravens turn out to be black.
So we start entertaining the hypothesis that 'all ravens are black'. But
how can we believe in this hypothesis? It talks about an infinite number
of ravens, almost all of which we haven't seen!
What we need is a method of induction, generalizing a finite number of
examples into a universal rule. It has been claimed that Solomonoff
induction is the best method out there. Is that true? Does that mean all
scientists should use Solomonoff induction? How does it work? And what
can it do for me?
Jan will explain these and related questions giving a brief tour from
probability theory to the universally intelligent agent AIXI. No prior
knowledge about math is required. As always, vegan snacks will be provided.
Discussion article for the meetup : Canberra: Intro to Solomonoff induction
WHEN: 24 April 2015 06:00:00PM (+1000)
WHERE: 108 North Road, Acton
Assume we are walking through the world and see a bunch of objects. Some of these objects are ravens, and all of the ravens turn out to be black. So we start entertaining the hypothesis that 'all ravens are black'. But how can we believe in this hypothesis? It talks about an infinite number of ravens, almost all of which we haven't seen!
What we need is a method of induction, generalizing a finite number of examples into a universal rule. It has been claimed that Solomonoff induction is the best method out there. Is that true? Does that mean all scientists should use Solomonoff induction? How does it work? And what can it do for me?
Jan will explain these and related questions giving a brief tour from probability theory to the universally intelligent agent AIXI. No prior knowledge about math is required. As always, vegan snacks will be provided.
General meetup info:
Discussion article for the meetup : Canberra: Intro to Solomonoff induction