Prof Susan Hespos (Western Sydney University)

Abstract

Human cognition is striking in its brilliance and adaptability. To gain an understanding of our species’ extraordinary cognition we investigate the origins and development of these abilities in infants. How do infant’s initial abilities change with experience, and what conditions foster or impede learning? Answers to these questions shed light not only on infants and children, but on people in all cultures because these abilities develop early and never go away. I will present data on what preverbal infants understand about objects, substances (like liquid or sand), and the processes they use to compare events. These factors underlie the everyday cognition for people of all ages, in all societies. By starting with babies, researchers gain insights into infants themselves and into older children’s prodigious capacities for learning. These insights form the foundation that guide our thoughts and actions as adults. Characterizing these cognitive processes could have a transformative impact on artificial intelligence by enabling machines to ‘learn’ in the same way we do.