Kempner Institute at Harvard University
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
📤 696
📥 71
📝 319
The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University.
Congratulations to our first cohort of Kempner post-bacs, who recently presented capstone research spanning AI & neuroscience, marking two years of intensive work and collaboration! Read more:
bit.ly/49391Sr
@shamkakade.bsky.social
@blsabatini.bsky.social
@dmelis.bsky.social
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Inaugural Kempner Post-Baccalaureate Capstone Showcases Work of First Cohort - Kempner Institute
Allston, MA — The Kempner Institute recently hosted its inaugural Post-Baccalaureate Capstone Event, celebrating the first four scholars as they near completion of the Kempner Post-Baccalaureate Progr...
https://bit.ly/49391Sr
2 days ago
0
5
3
"Blackout catastrophe" isn't always so catastrophic? Learn more in new work from
#KempnerInstitute
Research Fellow
@david-g-clark.bsky.social
👇
add a skeleton here at some point
4 days ago
0
6
0
reposted by
Kempner Institute at Harvard University
David G. Clark
19 days ago
New preprint: "Linear equivalence of nonlinear recurrent neural networks." For large nonlinear (potentially chaotic) RNNs with random connectivity, the full N×N covariance matrix takes the same form as that of a ~linear~ network with the same couplings, driven by independent noise.
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Linear equivalence of nonlinear recurrent neural networks
Large nonlinear recurrent neural networks with random couplings generate high-dimensional, potentially chaotic activity whose structure is of interest in neuroscience, machine learning, ecology, and o...
https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.23489
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In a newly published study, the
#KempnerInstitute’s
Patrick Slade and his team show that your gait may reveal your movement priorities — an insight that could guide smarter assistive tech. Read more:
bit.ly/4u7VaTb
#medtech
#neuroscience
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What Your Walk Says About Your Movement Priorities - Kempner Institute
Devices that assist movement, including robotic exoskeletons — wearable frames that support and enhance motion — are becoming more common. To work well, these systems must respond to a user’s […]
https://bit.ly/4u7VaTb
4 days ago
0
2
0
📢 We're hiring! The
#KempnerInstitute
is seeking Postdoctoral
#AI
Researchers to contribute to ambitious, team-science research at the frontier of modern machine learning and science. Applications close June 8th. Learn more & apply 👉
bit.ly/4dcs3XG
6 days ago
0
1
1
Congratulations to Benjamin Choi, Emma Finn, Sean Meng, Neil Shah and Johnathan Sun, the five Kempner-affiliated undergraduates among the 2026 winners of the Hoopes Prize
@harvard.edu
! Read more:
bit.ly/4tQwVc2
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Five Kempner Undergraduates Among Winners of 2026 Hoopes Prize - Kempner Institute
Five Kempner Institute student researchers were among the awardees of the 2026 Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize, which recognizes outstanding scholarly work or research conducted by undergraduates at Harvar...
https://bit.ly/4tQwVc2
10 days ago
0
3
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We're hiring!👀 The
#KempnerInstitute
is seeking an Educational Content and Curriculum Developer (Part-time/LHT) to help design and implement learning experiences at the intersection of
#neuroscience
and artificial
#intelligence.💡
Learn more & apply:
bit.ly/4teFAUE
12 days ago
0
1
1
📢 Applications for the Kempner AI Fellows Program are now open! This program is designed for early-career researchers with strong technical preparation in modern machine learning. Applications close June 1st. Learn more and apply 🔗
bit.ly/4ehVxWj
#KempnerInstitute
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Kempner AI Fellows Program - Kempner Institute
The Kempner AI Fellows Program is for early-career researchers ready to contribute to ambitious AI/ML research. Fellows work with Kempner investigators on active projects spanning foundation models, A...
https://bit.ly/4ehVxWj
13 days ago
0
3
1
Thanks to Azalia Mirhoseini of
@stanforduniversity.bsky.social
and Ricursive Intelligence for a great talk at the
#KempnerInstitute
Seminar Series last week! Dr. Mirhoseini presented test-time scaling as a new frontier for
#AI
progress. 💡
13 days ago
0
1
0
NEW: Kempner Research Roundup: April 2026! 🧠💡 Discover the latest research in natural and artificial intelligence from the
#KempnerInstitute
:
bit.ly/48TbSxh
#AI
#NeuroAI
#neuroscience
16 days ago
0
2
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Just out in
@natmachintell.nature.com
: Fluid Thinking on Collective Intelligence, a paper comparing
#collectiveintelligence
in
#neuralnetworks
with that in swarm robotics and insect colonies from
#KempnerInstitute
Affiliate Faculty Justin Werfel! Read the paper:
rdcu.be/fffak
20 days ago
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9
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NEW from the
#KempnerInstitute
: researchers introduce ForageWorld, a foraging task made to evaluate analysis techniques for learning, planning, and more. Read the
#DeeperLearning
blog post:
bit.ly/4vPrewB
#AI
Authors:
@kanakarajanphd.bsky.social
,
@ryanpaulbadman1.bsky.social
, Riley Simmons-Edler.
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Deep RL Needs Deep Behavior Analysis: Exploring Implicit Planning by Model-Free Agents in Open-Ended Environments - Kempner Institute
Model-free RL agents trained on simple tasks can be evaluated by whether or not they achieve their simple rewards, but complex open-ended environments demand richer analysis. ForageWorld introduces a ...
https://bit.ly/4vPrewB
20 days ago
0
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1
If you’re at
#ICLR2026
, don’t miss today’s
#KempnerInstitute
workshop presentations!
@iclr-conf.bsky.social
#AI
#NeuroAI
@shamkakade.bsky.social
@dmelis.bsky.social
20 days ago
0
1
0
🛠️ Today is the first day of
#ICLR2026
workshops! Check out the lineup of
#KempnerInstitute
presentations.
@iclr-conf.bsky.social
#AI
#NeuroAI
@dmelis.bsky.social
@shamkakade.bsky.social
@mweber.bsky.social
21 days ago
0
5
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🧠 Tomorrow marks Day 3 of
#ICLR2026
! The
#KempnerInstitute’s
presentations highlight a wide range of projects pushing the frontiers of
#AI
and
#NeuroAI
.
@iclr-conf.bsky.social
@brachit.bsky.social
@dmelis.bsky.social
@marinkazitnik.bsky.social
@sueyeonchung.bsky.social
@shamkakade.bsky.social
23 days ago
2
1
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What kinds of reasoning do
#LLMs
still struggle to do well? Researchers from
#KempnerInstitute
&
@harvardmed.bsky.social
consider the role of “relational complexity.” Read more about the study:
bit.ly/4u2kgCw
@marinkazitnik.bsky.social
@shamkakade.bsky.social
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New Study Sheds Light on the Kinds of Reasoning Tasks that AI Systems Still Struggle to Do Well - Kempner Institute
A doctor deciding how to treat a patient must weigh many factors at once — patient age, medical history, current symptoms, past treatments, as well as possible side effects of […]
https://bit.ly/4u2kgCw
23 days ago
0
2
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🤖 Are you at
#ICLR2026
? Check out the
#KempnerInstitute’s
Day 2 presentations!
@iclr-conf.bsky.social
#AI
#NeuroAI
@sueyeonchung.bsky.social
@dmelis.bsky.social
@marinkazitnik.bsky.social
@boknilev.bsky.social
23 days ago
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reposted by
Kempner Institute at Harvard University
Kanaka Rajan
25 days ago
✍️ In the
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
blog: our new tool built to compare the dynamics of complex systems when both internal circuitry and external inputs shape their behavior. Catch
@annhuang42.bsky.social
presenting this work at
#ICLR
!
kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu/research/dee...
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InputDSA: Demixing then comparing recurrent and externally driven dynamics in complex systems - Kempner Institute
We explored how to measure the similarity between two complex systems when they are driven by external inputs, like biological neural circuits or reinforcement learning agents. Our novel method, calle...
https://kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu/research/deeper-learning/inputdsa-demixing-then-comparing-recurrent-and-externally-driven-dynamics-in-complex-systems/"
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🚀 Starting Day 1 of
#ICLR2026
with an exciting lineup of presentations from researchers at the
#KempnerInstitute
! Take a look at the full list of today’s Kempner talks 👇
@iclr-conf.bsky.social
#AI
#NeuroAI
@satpreetsingh.bsky.social
@kanakarajanphd.bsky.social
@annhuang42.bsky.social
24 days ago
1
14
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📢 Applications for the Kempner Accelerator Awards are now open to @harvard.edu faculty studying
#intelligence
! This in-kind award provides access to the
#KempnerInstitute
AI cluster, one of the largest academic
#AI
clusters in the world. 💡 Apply here 👉
bit.ly/4cstDo1
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Kempner Institute Accelerator Awards - Kempner Institute
The Kempner Institute Accelerator Awards provide Kempner AI Cluster access to faculty across Harvard University working to understand the nature of intelligence in natural and artificial systems. We...
https://bit.ly/4cstDo1
about 1 month ago
0
0
0
Ever wondered how we've networked together 1,144 GPUs — including A100s, H100s, H200s, & RTX Pro 6000s — into one of the most powerful academic supercomputers for advancing
#AI
&
#neuroscience
research? Take a closer look at the
#KempnerInstitute
AI cluster:
bit.ly/3QcRb8M
about 1 month ago
0
2
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🧠🤖 Huge shoutout to our incredible 4th-year grad fellows! On Friday, we hosted the very first
#KempnerInstitute
Graduate Symposium, where they delivered outstanding presentations on everything from
#AI
interpretability to
#NeuroAI
, new algorithms, and real-world applications.
about 1 month ago
1
4
0
📢 Attention
@harvard.edu
faculty studying
#intelligence
! Apply by April 30th to become one of the new
#KempnerInstitute
Associate Faculty. Join us in building a community devoted to innovation in
#AI
,
#NeuroAI
, and
#neuroscience
. 💡 Learn more & apply 🔗
bit.ly/3Qhes9x
about 1 month ago
0
2
0
Trust matters between agents. New work from
#KempnerInstitute
associate faculty member Stephanie Gil introduces "cy-trust," a quantitative measure of how trustworthy a robot or vehicle is in a networked system.
seas.harvard.edu/news/do-you-...
#AI
#robotics
@ieeeorg.bsky.social
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Do You Trust Me? A Framework For Making Networks of Robots and Vehicles Safer
Paper describes how 'cy-trust' can enable resilient systems
https://seas.harvard.edu/news/do-you-trust-me-framework-making-networks-robots-and-vehicles-safer
about 2 months ago
0
0
0
NEW: Kempner Research Roundup: March 2026! 🧠🤖 Learn about the latest research on natural and artificial intelligence from the Kempner Institute:
bit.ly/4dlRAiX
#AI
#NeuroAI
#neuroscience
about 2 months ago
0
6
0
reposted by
Kempner Institute at Harvard University
SueYeon Chung
about 2 months ago
Excited to be working on neural representations as a route to AI interpretability, safety, and alignment. Grateful to the Aramont Foundation for the support!
#MechInterp
#AIsafety
#AIAlignment
add a skeleton here at some point
2
23
5
Congratulations to
#KempnerInstitute
Investigator SueYeon Chung on receiving an Aramont Fellowship to advance research linking neural representations,
#AIsafety
&
#AIalignment
! Read more:
bit.ly/4rRHqtN
@sueyeonchung.bsky.social
@harvardseas.bsky.social
#NeuroAI
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Aramont Fellowships give freedom to concentrate on high-risk, high-reward research — Harvard Gazette
Renewed gift significantly expands the impact of early-career support.
https://bit.ly/4rRHqtN
about 2 months ago
0
5
2
🤖🔬Researchers at the
#KempnerInstitute
and
@harvardmed.bsky.social
introduce ClawInstitute — a social network where
#AI
agents collaborate like scientists. Read more:
bit.ly/4c4Or5M
@marinkazitnik.bsky.social
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Harvard Researchers Create Social Network for “AI Scientists” to Collaborate - Kempner Institute
Science rarely advances exclusively through lone researchers. Progress often comes from discussion and collaboration — scientists sharing ideas, questioning one another, and refining their thinking to...
https://bit.ly/4c4Or5M
about 2 months ago
1
2
0
🧠👃A new study by
#KempnerInstitute
associate faculty member Venkatesh Murthy & collaborators shows that maximizing information recreates an olfactory design shared by multiple species. Out now in
@pnas.org
:
bit.ly/4uQ6Omw
@neurovenki.bsky.social
@jzv.bsky.social
#neuroscience
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New AI-based Framework Could Explain Why Evolution Gave So Many Species the Same Smell Circuit - Kempner Institute
Why do the smell circuits of flies, mice, and humans look so remarkably alike? A new study from Harvard researchers offers a possible explanation: this shared design may be the […]
https://bit.ly/4uQ6Omw
about 2 months ago
0
16
3
reposted by
Kempner Institute at Harvard University
The Transmitter
about 2 months ago
Neuroscience has become increasingly concerned with prediction, and machine learning with causal explanation, with each field adopting methods from the other, writes
@gershbrain.bsky.social
. Will this bring us closer to understanding neural systems?
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
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Trading places: What happens when neuroscience turns into machine learning, and machine learning turns into neuroscience?
Neuroscience has become increasingly concerned with prediction, and machine learning with causal explanation, with each field adopting methods from the other. I asked eight experts to weigh in on what...
https://www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-picture/trading-places-what-happens-when-neuroscience-turns-into-machine-learning-and-machine-learning-turns-into-neuroscience/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=org-social&utm_campaign=20260323-perspectives-big-picture-what-happens-when-neuroscience-turns-into-machine-learning
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NEW from the
#KempnerInstitute
: researchers introduce Energy-Based Fine-Tuning (EBFT), a method that matches the long-range statistics of model generations to ground-truth sequences in high-dimensional feature spaces. Read the
#DeeperLearning
blog post:
bit.ly/4ry8FcM
#AI
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Energy-Based Fine-Tuning: Beyond Next-Token Prediction - Kempner Institute
Language models trained with teacher forcing never learn to handle errors that compound during generation. Reinforcement learning with verifiable rewards (RLVR) fixes this by training on rollouts, but...
https://bit.ly/4ry8FcM
2 months ago
1
2
1
reposted by
Kempner Institute at Harvard University
David G. Clark
2 months ago
In Lisbon for
@cosynemeeting.bsky.social
2026! ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️ I'm very excited about the following posters, each associated with a preprint.
1
22
1
reposted by
Kempner Institute at Harvard University
SueYeon Chung
2 months ago
Just arrived in Lisbon for
#COSYNE2026
! Check out what our lab is presenting at
@cosynemeeting.bsky.social
Looking forward to catching up with friends over the next few days.
1
36
3
🧠🤖 Are you at
#COSYNE2026
? Check out the
#KempnerInstitute's
presentations! 👇
#neuroscience
#NeuroAI
2 months ago
1
6
5
📢✨We are thrilled to announce the 2026 recipients of
#KempnerInstitute
Research Fellowships: Jieneng Chen, Marco Fumero, Audrey Huang, Raja Marjieh, Yinuo Ren and Anne Wu! Learn more:
bit.ly/3NfzB2Y
@jienengchen.bsky.social
@marcofm.bsky.social
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Announcing 2026 Kempner Institute Research Fellows - Kempner Institute
Cambridge, MA – The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2026 Kempner Institute Research Fellowships. The […]
https://bit.ly/3NfzB2Y
2 months ago
0
6
0
🚀 Kempner Institute's AI cluster gets a big upgrade! We're adding 424 H200s & 192 RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs, creating a 1,144-GPU supercomputer delivering 1.79 exaFLOPS for AI, neuroscience & robotics research. Read more:
bit.ly/4cHmQZs
@shamkakade.bsky.social
@blsabatini.bsky.social
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Massive Increase of Computing Power for Kempner Institute at Harvard - Kempner Institute
Cambridge, MA – The most powerful supercomputer at Harvard is about to get larger and faster. Much faster. The Kempner Institute’s AI cluster, already one of the fastest AI supercomputers […]
https://bit.ly/4cHmQZs
2 months ago
0
1
0
🧠What do neurons “want”?✨ Kempner researchers
@binxuwang.bsky.social
and Carlos Ponce have developed a way for neurons to train AI image models to match their “preferences.” Read more about the research, out now in
@natneuro.nature.com
, here:
bit.ly/4bz47hw
#neuroscience
#NeuroAI
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Kempner Researchers Harness Generative AI to Reveal What Neurons "Want" - Kempner Institute
How can scientists figure out what visual information a neuron really responds to? For decades, neuroscientists have tried to answer this question by showing animals pictures — of faces, trees, […]
https://bit.ly/4bz47hw
2 months ago
1
11
1
Thanks to Lenka Zdeborová (
@zdeborova.bsky.social
) from
@epfl-ai-center.bsky.social
for a great talk discussing attention-based architectures that operate on sequences, and analytical insights into generalization obtained using solvable high-dimensional models. Watch the talk ➡️
youtu.be/hECIITnOGho
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Generalization in Attention-Based Models with Lenka Zdeborová
YouTube video by Kempner Institute at Harvard University
https://youtu.be/hECIITnOGho
2 months ago
0
3
0
NEW from the
#KempnerInstitute
: InputDSA, a tool to separate intrinsic dynamics from input-driven effects—enabling accurate, efficient comparisons of complex systems with external inputs. Read the
#DeeperLearning
blog post by
@annhuang42.bsky.social
&
@kanakarajanphd.bsky.social
:
bit.ly/4bkrvy9
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InputDSA: Demixing then comparing recurrent and externally driven dynamics in complex systems - Kempner Institute
We explored how to measure the similarity between two complex systems when they are driven by external inputs, like biological neural circuits or reinforcement learning agents. Our novel method, calle...
https://bit.ly/4bkrvy9
2 months ago
0
17
9
Applications for the 2026
#KempnerInstitute
Undergraduate Summer
#Internship
Program in AI/ML Research & Engineering are now open! 👀 This 10-week program offers a structured opportunity to further your experience in AI/ML engineering. Learn more 🔗
bit.ly/4cxbS8K
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Kempner Institute Undergraduate Summer Internship Program in AI/ML Research & Engineering - Kempner Institute
The Undergraduate Summer Internship Program in AI/ML Research & Engineering at the Kempner Institute offers a structured opportunity for current undergraduates (interns) and recent graduates to furthe...
https://bit.ly/4cxbS8K
2 months ago
0
1
0
reposted by
Kempner Institute at Harvard University
Satpreet (Sat) Singh
2 months ago
📣 Excited to announce the 2nd edition of our workshop “Agent-Based Models in Neuroscience: Theory, Autonomy, Embodiment & Environment” at
@cosynemeeting.bsky.social
#CoSyNe2026
!! 🧠🤖🌍🪰🐟🐭💪🧘🏃 🗓️ March 17, 2026 📍 Cascais, Portugal 🔗 Speaker lineup and schedule:
neuro-agent-models.github.io
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🤖 Agent-Based Models in Neuroscience
https://neuro-agent-models.github.io
1
34
14
NEW:
#Kempner
researchers develop a mean-field theory of task-trained RNNs that bridges random and learned connectivity—and find macaque motor cortex is best captured by an intermediate, task-specific recurrent structure. Read the blog post 👇 🔗
bit.ly/47f3Ldl
2 months ago
2
24
9
📢 Request for proposals: Applications for the
#KempnerInstitute
Accelerator Awards open to
@harvard.edu
faculty on April 14. Awardees pursue intelligence research on the Kempner
#AI
cluster, one of the largest academic AI clusters in the world. Learn more 👉
bit.ly/4smmyeW
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Kempner Institute Announces 2026 Accelerator Awards Request for Proposals - Kempner Institute
Cambridge, MA– The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University is pleased to announce the 2026 Kempner Institute Accelerator Awards request for proposa...
https://bit.ly/4smmyeW
2 months ago
0
2
0
What if
#AI
could emerge through natural selection instead of training? A new study led by
#KempnerInsitute
Research Fellow
@aaronwalsman.bsky.social
shows that environment size & sensory richness are key factors for how intelligence evolves. Read more here:
bit.ly/4b2gKjC
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What Happens When AI Isn’t Trained, But Evolves? - Kempner Institute
Over the past two decades, progress in artificial intelligence has involved a reliable recipe: define a clear goal for an AI system and teach it to improve on that objective […]
https://bit.ly/4b2gKjC
3 months ago
0
5
0
Thanks to Sherry Yang from
@nyucourant.bsky.social
and Google DeepMind for a great talk on Friday discussing strategies for building intelligent agents that learn efficiently despite real-world constraints. Watch the talk 👉
youtu.be/SpNTKghP11Q
#AI
#NeuroAI
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Learning World Models and Agents for High-Cost Environments with Sherry Yang
YouTube video by Kempner Institute at Harvard University
https://youtu.be/SpNTKghP11Q
3 months ago
0
3
0
NEW: Kempner Research Roundup: February 2026! 🧠🤖 Learn about the latest research on natural and artificial intelligence from the Kempner Institute:
bit.ly/4rFlHGh
#AI
#NeuroAI
#neuroscience
3 months ago
0
0
0
In a new
@natneuro.nature.com
paper,
#KempnerInstitute
Investigator
@sueyeonchung.bsky.social
& her team present a new mathematical theory linking four geometric properties of neural representations to generalization, across brains and AI. Read more here:
bit.ly/4kVbDpT
#NeuroAI
#neuroscience
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How the Brain and AI Reuse Old Knowledge in New Situations - Kempner Institute
Humans and other animals are remarkably good at using old knowledge in new situations. This ability — known as generalization — allows us to recognize a friend in an unexpected […]
https://bit.ly/4kVbDpT
3 months ago
0
10
1
🤖 Who’s shaping the future of intelligence? 🧠 📯 The
#KempnerInstitute
proudly announces this semester’s KURE award recipients. Meet the
@harvard.edu
undergrads exploring the frontiers of natural & artificial intelligence:
kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu/news/kempner...
#AI
#NeuroAI
#Neuroscience
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Kempner Institute Welcomes Spring 2026 Undergraduate Student Researchers - Kempner Institute
Cambridge, MA – The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University is pleased to announce the spring 2026 recipients of the Kempner Undergraduate Research...
https://kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu/news/kempner-institute-welcomes-spring-2026-undergraduate-student-researchers/
3 months ago
0
1
0
reposted by
Kempner Institute at Harvard University
SueYeon Chung
3 months ago
Our paper is out in
@natneuro.nature.com
!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We develop a geometric theory of how neural populations support generalization across many tasks.
@zuckermanbrain.bsky.social
@flatironinstitute.org
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
1/14
7
278
102
🧠📈A new foundation model for
#neuroscience
! In the latest Deeper Learning blog,
@duranrin.bsky.social
and
@kanakarajanphd.bsky.social
describe their state-of-the-art POCO model, which accurately forecasts neural dynamics across individuals and species.
bit.ly/4afqx5A
#NeuroAI
#neuroscience
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Forecasting the Brain: Scalable Neural Prediction with POCO - Kempner Institute
Predicting future neural activity is a critical step toward achieving real-time, closed-loop neurotechnologies. To this end, we introduce POCO, a unified forecasting model trained on diverse calcium i...
https://bit.ly/4afqx5A
3 months ago
2
19
5
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