Lex Fridman Podcast Leslie Kaelbling: Reinforcement Learning, Planning, and Robotics
4 snips
Mar 12, 2019 
Leslie Kaelbling, a leading professor of computer science at MIT and expert in reinforcement learning, discusses her journey in AI, sparked by 'Gödel, Escher, Bach.' She explores the connection between philosophy and computer science, and the cyclical evolution of artificial intelligence. The conversation dives into challenges in symbolic reasoning, the quest for optimal solutions in robotics, and the complexities of machine perception. Kaelbling also critiques academic publishing, advocating for open-access to enhance research in the rapidly changing landscape of AI.
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From Philosophy to Robotics
- Leslie Kaelbling's interest in AI stemmed from reading Gödel, Escher, Bach in high school.
- Her first job at SRI's AI lab, working on a robot, sparked her interest in robotics.
Philosophy's Relevance to AI
- Leslie Kaelbling's philosophy background, with a focus on logic and formal semantics, proved surprisingly relevant to her work in AI.
- Many of her philosophy classmates also transitioned into computer science.
Shakey and Flaky
- Leslie Kaelbling's first robot was Flaky, a successor to the iconic Shakey robot.
- Shakey, though defunct by then, pioneered concepts like A* search, symbolic planning, and vision.
