In Natural Language Processing (NLP), variation is typically seen as noise and "normalised away'' before processing, even though it is an integral part of language. Conversely, studying language variation in social contexts is central to sociolinguistics. I will present a framework to combine the sociolinguistic dimension of language with the technical dimension of NLP. I argue that by embracing sociolinguistics, variation can actively be included in a research setup, in turn informing the NLP side.
André Freitas (Idiap Research Institute & University of Manchester)
How do language models reason, and what would it take to build AI systems capable of sustained, complex reasoning? This lecture develops the foundations for answering these questions, connecting what we know about the internal workings of language models with methods for evaluating and extending their capabilities.
Mikolaj Kowalski, Jack Franklin, David Kamm - RSEs, ICCS, University of Cambridge
Julia is a just-in-time (JIT) compiled language with a strong focus on scientific computing and performance. It has gained significant popularity in the climate science community, largely due to its flexibility and excellent native support for GPU computing. Over the last year, our team at the Institute for Computing for Climate Science (ICCS) has collaborated closely with the developers of major Julia-based ocean and atmosphere models to optimize their performance on GPU architectures.
Professor Bishop will discuss the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact across fields including software engineering, weather forecasting, mathematics, scientific discovery, and engineering simulation. The lecture will also highlight an ambitious student rocketry project being undertaken within the Department.
Abstract: The UK’s AI Security Institute (AISI), situated within the Cabinet Office, works to equip government with an evidenced understanding of the risks posed by advanced AI. AISI's Red Team stress-tests frontier safety measures: finding ways misuse safeguards can fail, investigating unintended and harmful model behaviours, and assessing whether protocols intended to keep models under control actually work.
This free event is open only to members of the University of Cambridge (and affiliated institutes). Please be aware that we are unable to offer consultations outside clinic hours.
