[Probcogsci] Upcoming AI Seminar Talk: Monday, 11/10/08 , 2-3 PM, CSE Bldg Rm. **1202**

[Angela J. Yu]

>
>> Talk Title: "Optimal Decision Making under Uncertainty and Temporal  
>> Pressure"
>>
>> Speaker:   Dr. Angela Yu
>>
>> Host:      Charles Elkan
>> When:      Monday, November 10, 2008
>> Where:     Conference Room 1202 , CSE Building
>> Time:      2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
>>
>> Abstract:
>>
>> Most models of decision-making in neuroscience assume an infinite  
>> horizon, which yields an optimal solution that integrates evidence  
>> up to a fixed decision threshold; however, under most experimental  
>> as well as naturalistic behavioral settings, the decision has to be  
>> made before some finite deadline, which is often experienced as a  
>> stochastic quantity, either due to variable external constraints or  
>> internal timing uncertainty. In this work, we formulate this  
>> problem as sequential hypothesis testing under a stochastic  
>> horizon. We use dynamic programming tools to show that, for a large  
>> class of deadline distributions, the Bayes-optimal solution  
>> requires integrating evidence up to a threshold that declines  
>> monotonically over time. We use numerical simulations to illustrate  
>> the optimal policy in the special cases of a fixed deadline and one  
>> that is drawn from a gamma distribution.
>>
>> Biosketch
>>
>> Dr. Yu recently joined the UCSD Cognitive Science Department as an  
>> Assistant Professor.  She received her PhD from Gatsby  
>> Computational Neuroscience Unit at University College London, and  
>> did her postdoctoral training at Princeton University.  In her  
>> research, she uses computational and mathematical models, and  
>> complementary experimental work, to understand the neural machinery  
>> underlying cognitive processes, such as attention, vision,  
>> learning, and decision-making.
>>
>> For more information on the 2008 Fall Quarter AI Seminar Lecture  
>> Series, see http://www.cs.ucsd.edu/users/elkan/259/
>>
>>
>>
>
> -- 
> Sheila Manalo
> Faculty Assistant
> Department of Computer Science and Engineering
> University of California, San Diego
> 9500 Gilman Drive # 0404
> La Jolla, CA  92093-0404
>
> Phone: 858-534-8873
> Fax:   858-534-7029
> Email: shmanalo at ucsd.edu

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Angela J. Yu
Assistant Professor
Department of Cognitive Science
UCSD, Mail Code 0515
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0515

Email: ajyu at cogsci.ucsd.edu
Phone: 858-822-3317
Fax: 858-534-1128
Website: www.cogsci.ucsd.edu/~ajyu
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