Focus Period Linköping 2022

Hybrid AI – Where data-driven and model-based methods meet

October 18 – November 18, 2022

Data-driven machine learning approaches have been very successful the last 10-15 years. At the same time there are many challenges such as how to deal abstract and causal aspects, how to make learning work with significantly less data like humans can do, and how to achieve robust systems which provides formal guarantees and interpretability. Traditional model- or knowledge-based methods are designed to deal with many of these issues, effectively dealing with generality, abstraction, and causality with strong formal guarantees. A current trend in AI and machine learning today is therefore how to combine these different approaches in a principled and effective way. This is often called Hybrid AI.

The purpose of the focus period for the fall of 2022 was to study techniques and methods for how to achieve Hybrid AI in two particular areas: A) Optimization for Learning and Learning for Optimization; and B) Statistical-Relational approaches to Planning, Control and Decision-making. Both strongly connect AI, control theory and optimization and there are also synergies between the two.

The focus period run over 5 weeks, during which young international scholars, ELLIIT researchers and other well-established international academics gathered in Linköping to work together in these joint research challenges. In the middle of the period, between October 31st and November 2nd, a 3-day workshop was held with invited top-level scientists.