Keynote @ Pint of Science Festival (May 20, 2026)

Invited keynote on “Language that connects people and robots” at Pint of Science Festival – Learning Languages across Minds and Machines -, Amsterdam, May 20, 2026.

We do not only learn a language but also learn about us, our culture and the world. Because of this common ground, language is a pragmatic instrument. We use language to evoke shared ideas and experiences. How does that work for a robot that does not share our experiences and still needs to learn about us and the world? Is AI as we know it sufficient or do we need more to make robots understand our language?