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AI
It was in my last year at the university of Brussels when I came in close contact with Artificial Intelligence. Professor Luc Steels was my promoter and had written his first book on AI called "The talking heads". Professor Steels had a very different approach to intelligence. According to him intelligence lies in the ability to communicate. Without this we would be as intelligent as any other animal. "The talking heads" were cameras placed all over the world looking at a board with two dimensional figures. The computers where able to create random words, with no meaning to us, for what they see and communicate to each other.
My thesis was about "Robot arm behavior with visual feedback". The propose was to introduce "The Talking Heads" to the three dimensional world. Making it possible for the computers to increase interaction. They could ask to
pick something up, giving the color and shape of an object, and place it somewhere else. This is where we saw the real intelligence kick in, as the systems started to learn through communication.
The project made me see the world through entirely new eyes. The amount of algorithms required to create just the smallest movement where immense. It makes you realize just how great the human body really is.
I'm still very passionate about AI, and stay informed as much as possible on new developments. The last thirteen years there has been a significant amount of successful developments. Where possible I will even use self-learning or game theory algorithms to help me do my job.