Key Note: Natural language programming: the bridge between humans and AI

Speaker: Dr Erik Meijer

According to a recent article in De Volkrant, at least one in three Dutch people use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Dall-E, Midjourney, etc. One of the main reasons for this is that you can communicate with AI systems in natural language. This makes generative AI much more accessible than traditional computing to people who have no programming experience.

However, natural language is an inefficient way to express ideas and instructions precisely. This is why computer scientists create programming languages and scientists mathematical notations. If AI is the future of computing, we need new programming languages to converse with AI systems.

Who is Erik Meijer:

Erik Meijer is a computer scientist and entrepreneur working in the US. He received his PhD from Radboud University in Nijmegen and was UHD in Utrecht and part-time professor at TUDelft, and University of Nottingham. He started his own company (Applied Duality), worked with Netflix and Google and at Microsoft and Facebook (Meta) as director of Engineering. Erik has many patents and academic publications to his credit.

In this presentation, we will demonstrate the design of a natural language-based programming language for instructing AI systems. This AI language is based on techniques that also underpin traditional programming languages.

The cross-fertilisation between AI language models and traditional programming languages opens new avenues for effectively performing complex tasks with AI language models. By harnessing the strengths of both natural language and programming languages, we can bridge the communication gap between humans and AI systems, paving the way for a future of seamless and intuitive interaction with AI.

As part of the collective membership with the Open University, KIVI members are welcome and can register as interested via this link: https://fd7.formdesk.com/openuniversiteit/aanmelden_studiedag_Informatica_Informatiekunde_160224

(under student number enter a '0', under the dropdown menu study phase choose 'interested')

It is possible to sign up for the Key Note only, and the bread buffet offered afterwards, as well as other parts, see: https://www.ou.nl/-/informatica-studiedag. Among others, there are open-access commencement sessions of OU undergraduate and master's courses in Artificial Intelligence, Responsible AI, Introduction to Computer Science, Software Testing, Relational Databases and Project Management. KIVI members with a WO master's degree in Computer Science can also take separate master's courses such as Key Topics in AI via a special procedure (for HBO, a premaster always applies). For KIVI members of all other fields of study, courses such as Project Management and Introduction to Computer Science, for example, are accessible without prior knowledge and can be taken separately (by way of LLO!).