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The first lecture of the Vice Chancellor’s Research Lecture Series for the year 2016 was held today at the Conference Hall. Asst. Prof. Xavier Mattam from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering & IT gave a lecture on ‘Cognitive Computing – an Introduction’.
Below here is the abstract of the lecture:
“We have entered a new era of computing. Over the years, computing and computers highlight three definite eras – Tabulating Systems Era, Programmable Systems Era and Cognitive Systems Era. The Tabulating Systems Era which began with the Hollerith Electric Tabulator in the 1890’s went on till the 1940s made use of mechanical devices to organize data and make calculations.
The programmable computing era started in the 1940s with the use of Colossus Mark 1 in 1944. Most computers being used today are based on the Von Neumann architectural principles that expressed problem as a set of instructions which was then codified in software and executed in such stored-program machine. But the key limitation to this is in the emerging world of big data.
With the explosive growth of information through the mobile phones usage and the internet, a new generation of machines need to be developed to complement our cognitive limitations. The quest of for these machines had begun early but was practically demonstrated with IBM’s Watson in 2011. Cognitive computing is an attempt to mimic the process of the brain in cognition. For this, it makes use of various cognitive technologies and systems. Cognitive systems are fundamentally different from the traditionally programmable systems since cognitive systems make use of a non-Von Neumann architecture using the Hebbian theory in neurosciences to create artificial neurons and synapses. The era of cognitive computing unfolds new opportunities and outcomes for all who participate in it.”

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The Vice Chancellor’s Research Lecture Series is a platform for sharing research findings and knowledge among the different disciplines in the University.