Panayiota Poirazi | Decoding the Mysteries of Biological and Artificial Intelligence

In this lecture, we will explore the fascinating world of brains – both biological and artificial. We will discuss the similarities and differences between biological and artificial neural networks. We will discover how neurons communicate, the role of synapses, and how biological brains outperform artificial ones on many levels. From their minimal energy consumption to their ability to generalize, we will discuss the mystery of the complexity of biological brains and the computational capacity of artificial brains. Whether you are a curious mind or a technology enthusiast, this journey will offer you new insights into the present and future of artificial intelligence.

Participants:
Panayiota Poirazi: Neuroscientist, Research Director, Head of the Dendrites Lab, IMBB, FORTH

Panayiota Poirazi is a Research Director and head of the Dendrites Lab (www.dendrites.gr) at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH). She has a Bachelor in Mathematics from the University of Cyprus, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She is interested in understanding how dendrites contribute to biological and artificial intelligence uses computational approaches, often in conjunction with experiments, to answer this question. Her work has significantly advanced our understanding of how single neurons compute, by revealing the power of dendrites in solving difficult problems. She received numerous awards for her academic achievements, including an Einstein Foundation fellowship, the Alexander von Humboldt Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, an ERC Starting Grant and an EMBO YIP award, among others. She is a member of EMBO, was the first Chair of the FENS-Kavli Network of excellence and is the Secretary General-elect of FENS (Federation for European Neuroscience Societies).
The Foundation for Research & Technology