Strong AI Lab
Exploring complex problem solving through learning-based artificial intelligence.
Developing Intelligence with Symbolic AI and Machine Learning
The Strong AI Lab (SAIL), at The University of Auckland’s School of Computer Science, explores novel approaches to complex problem solving, focusing on learning-based artificial intelligence. By leveraging current developments in the Deep Learning revolution in AI along with techniques derived from symbolic AI, our researchers aim to give computers the powers of understanding and integration. This challenging area of AI research has a high potential for commercial impact.
Although achieving human-level understanding and reasoning remains a formidable long-term goal, recent developments have opened a path to significant near-term advancements. For example, some of our research investigates automating the interpretation and integration of text, diagrams, and tables to improve performance on complex question-answering tasks. Such advancements are not only within our grasp but also poised for rapid commercialisation.
While the Strong AI Lab is committed to conducting and disseminating research of the highest international caliber, our focus extends beyond academic excellence. We aim to yield tangible benefits for New Zealand and humanity at large. This commitment involves local collaboration with New Zealand’s researchers and contributing to a globally recognized entrepreneurial ecosystem. On a broader scale, our goal is to guide AI development towards fostering a sustainable, fulfilling future for humanity worldwide.
News & Events
TVNZ’s Breakfast with Professor Michael Witbrock
In an era where digital content can be manipulated with just a few clicks, the line between reality and fabrication becomes dangerously thin. This was the central theme of a compelling interview on TVNZ's Breakfast, where Daniel Faitaua sat down with Professor Michael...
Dangers of Digital Doppelgängers
In a recent interview, the head of Strong AI Lab, Professor Michael Witbrock, addresses the growing challenge of identifying truth in digitally manipulated content. This topic is increasingly relevant as technology rapidly advances, exemplified by sophisticated...
AI for good
The Government is investing millions of dollars in the University of Auckland to help understand and unlock the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
New Zealand workshop on AI research calling for submission 2021
NZAIR invite you to participate in the 1st New Zealand Workshop on Artificial Intelligence Research (NZAIR 2021) that will take place on 19th February 2021 in Hobbiton, Matamata, New Zealand.
Ongoing Projects & Research
Speech Emotion Recognition
This project evaluates various emotional speech datasets, and training machine learning models on these datasets.
Josh | Nov 2, 2020 | 0 Comments
From Symbolic Logic Reasoning to Soft Reasoning: A Neural-Symbolic Paradigm
The goal is to build up an end-to-end neural based reasoning engine. The existing neural based models lack a reasoning engine, and they are not end-to-end training process. The repository also incorporates extra code for research as part of future work.
Bryan Chen | Nov 2, 2020 | 0 Comments
Open Domain Interviewing Agent
Interviewing is a critical human-to-human task in multiple industries, including journalism, human resources, and qualitative research fieldwork. Interviewing can be broadly defined as an interactive goal-orientated knowledge acquisition task on a target source....
Bryan Chen | Nov 2, 2020 | 0 Comments
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It’s Never Too Late or Too Early to Get Started
The Strong AI Lab has immediate opportunities for Ph.D. Students, Post-doctoral Fellows, and Senior Research Programmers. If you are interested and feel our research goals align, contact us!