AGM, "How Computers Learn Language", and Bonenkai
Saturday, December 14, 2019 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm
From 1:30 to 2:45 we'll hold our Annual General Meeting (AGM) for our chapter officers and members to discuss our past year's activities as a chapter and discuss plans for the coming year. Anyone interested in or curious about serving as an officer in the coming year should plan to attend if possible, or contact us ahead of time to find out more.
3:00 ~ 4:45:
How Computers Learn Language: A Brief Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, by Robert Swier
Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have already begun to affect society in profound ways and the pace of these changes is accelerating. While all fields of education will be affected, language education will experience some of the greatest changes because many of these advancements focus on intelligent processing of natural language. This talk will present a broad and friendly introduction to the underlying techniques that allow computers to learn from data and produce intelligent behavior. The aim will be to demystify the technology so that teachers are better able to evaluate its role in education. Topics will include the philosophical questions of AI as well as the evolution of AI techniques from early hand-coded systems to the statistical approaches and deep learning systems of today. The talk will end with an open discussion on the implications these technologies have for language teaching.
Robert Swier is a member of the Faculty of Literature, Arts, and Cultural Studies at Kindai University. He holds graduate degrees in computer science from the University of Rochester (Artificial Intelligence) and the University of Toronto (Computational Linguistics). He is a PhD student in CALL at Kyoto University and lives in Nara with too many dogs.
After the presentation please join us for our annual Bonenkai dinner and drinks, this year at the nearby Asahi Super Dry restaurant on the 5th floor of OCAT. It's a two-hour buffet and nomihoudai for 4000 yen (3000 yen for JALT members). Family and friends are all very welcome. RSVP by Friday, Dec 13 to let us know if you plan to attend so we can be sure to reserve enough seats. We hope to see you there!
Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 10:53AM