MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence
@mit-sqi.bsky.social
The MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence's community of scientists, engineers, faculty, students, staff, and supporters are aiming to understand intelligence – how brains produce it and how it can be replicated in artificial systems.
The TiPToP system enables robots to follow directions in plain language, like "put all the fruit in the bowl" or "wipe the table." They reason before acting. sqi.mit.edu/news/robots-...
Robots That Think Before They Act
The TiPToP system enables robots to reason in order to plan and complete tasks using spatial modeling and plain-language task instructions.
sqi.mit.edu
memo, a new programming language, makes it far easier and faster to build computational models of how humans think about the thoughts, beliefs, and goals of others. Essentially, it is specialized for reasoning about minds. sqi.mit.edu/news/memo @joshtenenbaum.bsky.social @kartikchandra.bsky.social
memo Helps Researchers Model How Minds Think About Other Minds
A new programming language called memo addresses long-standing challenges in "theory of mind" research by offering specialized syntax and dramatically faster computation.
sqi.mit.edu
MIT researchers are studying the brain's language network — and their recent findings are surprising. @evfedorenko.bsky.social @coltoncasto.bsky.social @benlipkin.bsky.social news.mit.edu/2026/brain-l...
The brain’s language network is more extensive than previously thought
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from more than 700 people, MIT researchers identified 17 brain regions outside of the canonical language-processing centers that are also involv...
news.mit.edu
Studying how babies and young children understand and use language has broad impacts for medicine, education, and technology. @evfedorenko.bsky.social @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social mcgovern.mit.edu/2026/05/17/l...
Language development in the brain - MIT McGovern Institute
The brain’s capacity to use and understand language expands rapidly in the first years of life, as babies start to make sense of the words they hear and eventually begin to piece together sentences of...
mcgovern.mit.edu
Kids learn by playing; stacking blocks, building sandcastles, and pushing toy cars all teach lessons about interacting with the world. However, some physical cause-and-effect interactions are confusing to children. SQI is researching intuitive physics in young minds. sqi.mit.edu/news/intuiti...
How Do Children Reason About Cause and Effect?
Children as young as three years old already have a strong understanding of abstract causality, but new data shows that they may be less advanced when it comes to understanding the mechanisms involved...
sqi.mit.edu
Recent news: a new programming language that builds models of how people think about what other people are thinking, robots that reason before acting, and a new research project on intuitive physics (how children perceive the world around them) sqi.mit.edu/news/sqi-new...
Recent news from SQI: June 2026
In June, once we've said goodbye to the graduates and their families, we look at what we've accomplished over the past year and start planning for the months ahead.
sqi.mit.edu
New paper with @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social "Expectations of reciprocal generosity are specific to equal relationships," in @openmindjournal.bsky.social. Thread below! Article: doi.org/10.1162/opmi... MIT News: news.mit.edu/2026/would-y...
Would you return a favor? Scientists say it depends on the relationship
People generally only engage in reciprocal generosity with others of equal or unknown status, MIT researchers experimentally demonstrated. During repeated interactions between people of different soci...
news.mit.edu
Have you ever thought about generosity? Do you buy a colleague a cup of coffee or treat a friend to a meal? And do you expect that generous impulse will be returned? Prof. Rebecca Saxe & Alicia Chen have studied this. @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social news.mit.edu/2026/would-y...
Would you return a favor? Scientists say it depends on the relationship
People generally only engage in reciprocal generosity with others of equal or unknown status, MIT researchers experimentally demonstrated. During repeated interactions between people of different soci...
news.mit.edu
Playing "Battleship" relies on thinking logically, considering unknowns, and eliminating impossibilities. What if machines play? MIT researchers used the classic game as a test bed for AI agents. @joshtenenbaum.bsky.social news.mit.edu/2026/teachin...
Teaching AI agents to ask better questions by playing “Battleship”
AI models played “Collaborative Battleship” together and struggled to ask informative questions about hidden ships. A Monte Carlo inference strategy helped small agents carefully consider each inquiry...
news.mit.edu
Great article by @joshtenenbaum.bsky.social in the AI & Science issue of Daedalus www.amacad.org/publication/...
Language Is Not All You Need . . . but Language, Probabilistic Programs & Bayesian Models of Cognition Will Get You Pretty Far
Since their origins in the 1950s, cognitive science and artificial intelligence have made slow but steady progress together toward a functional understanding of human intelligence. The arrival of larg...
amacad.org
We were thrilled to host Prof. Tom Mitchell of CMU last month — if you're interested in machine learning and the people who created this field, check out the recording of his talk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiYz...
Prof. Tom Mitchell: The History of Machine Learning
YouTube video by MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence
youtube.com
Human vision can pick out moving objects from a busy background. MIT researchers have created GenMatter, a hardware-accelerated inference algorithm that uses dots or textures to distinguish items. arxiv.org/pdf/2604.22160 @joshtenenbaum.bsky.social
arxiv.org
MIT researchers have developed automated pipeline that generates child-friendly audiovisual stimuli in minutes instead of weeks. Bianca Santi, Halie Olson @halieolson.bsky.social, others coauthored a paper in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience describing the project. sqi.mit.edu/news/audiovi...
A Faster Way to Create Research Videos for Children
MIT researchers develop automated pipeline that generates child-friendly audiovisual stimuli in minutes instead of weeks
sqi.mit.edu
@gretatuckute.bsky.social is an MIT alumna who worked with @evfedorenko.bsky.social and the SQI Language and Thought Mission. She is recognized as a rising leader in the field of computational cognitive neuroscience. sqi.mit.edu/news/greta-t...
Dr. Greta Tuckute: Bridging Neuroscience and AI using Language
As a student, Greta Tuckute worked on language processing research in the EvLab. Now at Harvard's Kempner Institute, she studies how language is implemented in biological and artificial systems.
sqi.mit.edu
Congratulations to Jacob Andreas, was named a 2026 Edgerton Award recipient! The award recognizes exceptional teaching, research, and service at MIT! Prof. Andreas co-leads our Language and Thought Mission, and he is a dedicated and creative researcher and educator. news.mit.edu/2026/jacob-a...
Jacob Andreas and Brett McGuire named Edgerton Award winners
MIT associate professors Jacob Andreas and Brett McGuire have been selected as the winners of the 2026 Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award for exceptional contributions to teaching, research,...
news.mit.edu
Recent news on automating developmental neuroscience studies, facilitating LLM "brainstorming" sessions, and studying how language is implemented in biological and artificial systems. @evfedorenko.bsky.social @gretatuckute.bsky.social @halieolson.bsky.social sqi.mit.edu/news/recent-...
Recent news from SQI: April 2026
From automating developmental neuroscience studies to facilitating LLM "brainstorming" sessions, this spring, the MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence supported research across neuroscience, AI, a...
sqi.mit.edu
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences recently hosted a panel discussion on AI & human memory — SQI director Jim DiCarlo gave his perspective as a neuroscientist deeply involved in research at the interface of AI and human intelligence. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCQF...
How Can AI Impact Human Memories? An Academy discussion.
YouTube video by American Academy of Arts & Sciences
youtube.com
SQI research is supported by Platforms, innovative systems and software to enable experimentation, benchmarking, and testing. At the SCC workshop on Human Intelligence & AI, Erik Vogan gave an overview of the platforms, including @brain-score.bsky.social and the IO. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqJ_...
Human Intelligence & AI: Overview of Quest Platforms
YouTube video by MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
youtube.com
the scientists and programmers from @brain-score.bsky.social have made big upgrades to the leaderboard — this blog entry explains www.brain-score.org/blog/leaderb...
Brain-Score
Brain-Score is a platform for researchers to test models on how well they predict neural and behavioral brain measurements.
brain-score.org
The amazing Rebecca Saxe @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social speaks tomorrow Wed at noon east coast time in the Bisan Lecture Series. Title: What People Learn from Punishment Register here to get the Zoom link!: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... scientists4palestine.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?...
What People Learn from Punishment - Scientists For Palestine
Wednesday, February 11, 2025, 7 pm Palestine time Prof. Rebecca Saxe, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Title: What People Learn from Punishment Abstract: In human society, punishment can so...
scientists4palestine.us2.list-manage.com
On Point's series on Brainwaves, Prof. Nancy Kanwisher discusses her research on the functional organization of the brain — understanding this architecture will lead to advances in neuroscience as well as AI. @npr @nancykanwisher.bsky.social www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026...
@joshtenenbaum.bsky.social and others from MIT give their perspectives on how robots are becoming part of everyday life -- but further research into intelligence and learning is needed to make them useful.
Vox@vox.com · 6mo agoScience fiction promised us humanoids. Do we even want them? www.vox.com/technology/4...
A new name and a continued commitment — looking forward to this next chapter! news.mit.edu/2026/continu...
At MIT, a continued commitment to understanding intelligence
With support from the Siegel Family Endowment, the newly renamed MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence investigates how brains produce intelligence and how it can be replicated to solve problems.
news.mit.edu
Too many holiday events on your calendar? @wgbh.org talks with @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social about benefits of social interactions. www.wgbh.org/culture/2025...
Why you shouldn't flake on social plans, according to an MIT scientist
MIT professor Rebecca Saxe joined GBH's Morning Edition to discuss the health and emotional benefits of social interaction.
wgbh.org
If you wondered about the research and goals of our organization, please watch this youtu.be/7rzeIrFjFtI
Reintroducing the MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence
YouTube video by MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence
youtu.be
This New Yorker article addresses some of the questions that SQI researchers are thinking about, and many friends and colleagues are interviewed.
The New Yorker@newyorker.com · 9mo agoCould A.I. surpass us not only in knowledge but also in judgment, ingenuity, cunning—and, as a result, power? James Somers reports. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/10/the-case-that-ai-is-thinking
The Polyglot Neuroscientist Resolving How the Brain Parses Language
The Polyglot Neuroscientist Resolving How the Brain Parses Language | Quanta Magazine
Is language core to thought, or a separate process? For 15 years, the neuroscientist Ev Fedorenko has gathered evidence of a language network in the human brain — and has found some similarities to LL...
quantamagazine.org
We are thrilled to announce our new name today! The MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence will celebrate this afternoon with research talks and poster presentations. We look forward to sharing recordings soon.
