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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20251216T140000
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UID:9639-1765893600-1765904400@www.etis-lab.fr
SUMMARY:Soutenance de thèse - Zakaria Lemhaouri
DESCRIPTION:Zakaria Lemhaouri soutiendra sa thèse “Computational modelling of language learning in robots: the development of meaning potentials in social and emotional contexts” le 16 décembre 2025 à CY Cergy Paris Université – Site De Saint-Martin (amphi E3). \nAbstract\nRecent advances in natural language processing—especially large-scale transformer models—have dramatically improved language generation and understanding. These systems\, however\, are not designed to explain how infants acquire language: they learn from massive static datasets\, do not exhibit infant-like developmental trajectories\, and overlook the cognitive\, social\, and psychological precursors that shape language learning. \nWe propose a cognitive model for a robot’s early language acquisition\, inspired by how human babies learn language. The robot’s learning process relies on sensorimotor development\, social interactions with a caregiver\, and real time learning\, making it an active learner. This modular architecture includes three components: a motivational module\, a perception module\, and a communication/action module. The robot employs two associative learning methods to form meaningful symbols and acquire words with functional meaning: first\, through trial and error to learn the correct word for each situation\, and second\, by using a neural network to ground each word in the goal it achieves\, as well as in proprioceptive and exteroceptive signals. This yields a dual word–referent association. \nWe implemented this architecture in a humanoid robot to study the development of its communicative skills. We aimed to follow major milestones in language learning\, such as babbling\, lexical development (learning nouns and verbs)\, syntax and early grammar development. The results indicate that the robot successfully acquired motivation-grounded language. \nDevelopmentally plausible models\, such as the one we present here\, can be valuable tools for investigating questions related to cognitive and psychological development in humans. We conducted several experiments to study how extralinguistic factors like motivation\, sensory-motor development\, caregiver responsiveness and social interaction influence the emergence and shaping of language. The results show that these factors\, which are often overlooked by most language models\, promote more efficient and faster language learning\, a richer vocabulary\, better retention of acquired words\, and improved categorization learning. \nComposition du jury\n\nProf. Lola Cañamero (CY Cergy Paris Université) – Directrice de thèse\nProf. Ann Nowé (VUB Vrije Universiteit Brussel) – Directrice de thèse\nDr. Laura Cohen (CY Cergy Paris Université) – Co-encadrante de thèse\nProf. Angelo Cangelosi (University of Manchester) – Examinateur\nDr. Alessandra Sciutti (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) – Rapportrice\nDr. John Lones (University of Hertfordshire) – Rapporteur\nDr. Sofiane Boucenna (CY Cergy Paris Université) – Examinateur\nDr. Paul Van Eecke (VUB Vrije Universiteit Brussel) – Examinateur\n\nDate et lieu\n16 décembre 2025 à 14h00\nAmphi E3\, CY Cergy Paris Université – Site De Saint-Martin\, 2 Av. Adolphe Chauvin\, 95300 Pontoise \nPour celles et ceux qui souhaitent assister à la soutenance sur Teams\, vous trouverez le lien ci-dessous :\nhttps://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MWI5ZWE1MzktNDEyZS00YzM5LWEzMmYtMWM3NTlhNWRlNDA1%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22aa8bdaa4-8feb-46c0-b5e6-31c96337579b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f8624078-88c7-43eb-9cc8-3ad426f733a4%22%7d \nLa soutenance sera suivie d’un pot auquel vous êtes chaleureusement invité·e·s.
URL:https://www.etis-lab.fr/event/soutenance-de-these-zakaria-lemhaouri/
LOCATION:CY Cergy Paris Uniersité – site de Saint-Martin\, amphi E3\, 2 avenue Adolphe-Chauvin\, Pontoise\, 95300\, France
CATEGORIES:PhD Defense
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