#214 Learning & Memory, For Brains & AI, with Kim Stachenfeld, Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind
Jun 10, 2024
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Kim Stachenfeld, Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, discusses the intersection of AI and memory, the importance of flexibility in AI models, retrieval databases, AI-driven science, and augmenting human capabilities with AI. They explore how AI can help crack the code on memory, the parallels between episodic memory in the brain and AI, the evolution of cognition in humans and large neural networks, and the overlap between brain research and AI in tackling common computational problems.
AI models accessing memory buffers enhance learning similar to the brain's episodic memory process.
Brain's specialized memory systems contrast AI models' generalized learning approach.
Deep dives
The Role of Episodic Memory and Retrieval Augmented Generation in Learning
The brain's process of learning, notably involving episodic memory and the hippocampus, is compared to the retrieval augmented generation (RAG) in language models. Neuroscience and AI can benefit from understanding the similarities between memory storage in the brain and AI models accessing memory buffers to enhance learning.
Learning Skills Development in Humans and AI
Human cognition develops gradually, acquiring skills over time with experiences. Contrary to gradual human learning, AI models are often trained on entire datasets at once, lacking the progressive skill-building process. Regional specialization in brain circuits for different types of learning and memory is observed, contrasting the more generalized learning approach of large neural networks.
Distinct Memory Systems: Episodic vs. Procedural Memory in Neuroscience
The stark difference between episodic memory, tied to the vivid recall of specific experiences like the location of a parked car, and procedural memory, such as learning complex motor skills without conscious recollection, highlights the brain's specialized memory systems. These distinct memory pathways coexist and interact, demonstrating the brain's multifaceted approach to learning and memory retention.
Optimizing Learning with Sleep, Exercise, and Novelty
The significance of sleep, exercise, and exposure to novelty in enhancing learning and memory retention is highlighted. Sleep aids in converting experiences into lasting knowledge, while novelty stimulates the formation of new memories. Engaging in activities that promote brain health, like exercise and social interactions, proves beneficial for effective learning practices.
Memory, the foundation of human intelligence, is still one of the most complex and mysterious aspects of the brain. Despite decades of research, we've only scratched the surface of understanding how our memories are formed, stored, and retrieved. But what if AI could help us crack the code on memory? How might AI be the key to unlocking problems that have evaded human cognition for so long?
Kim Stachenfeld is a Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind in NYC and Affiliate Faculty at the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at Columbia University. Her research covers topics in Neuroscience and AI. On the Neuroscience side, she study how animals build and use models of their world that support memory and prediction. On the Machine Learning side, she works on implementing these cognitive functions in deep learning models. Kim’s work has been featured in The Atlantic, Quanta Magazine, Nautilus, and MIT Technology Review. In 2019, she was named one of MIT Tech Review’s Innovators under 35 for her work on predictive representations in hippocampus.
In the episode, Richie and Kim explore her work on Google Gemini, the importance of customizability in AI models, the need for flexibility and adaptability in AI models, retrieval databases and how they improve AI response accuracy, AI-driven science, the importance of augmenting human capabilities with AI and the challenges associated with this goal, the intersection of AI, neuroscience and memory and much more.