As part of the sixth edition of UM6P Science Week, centered on the overarching theme of “Convergence(s),” the School of Collective Intelligence (SCI) and the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS) partnered to deliver an interdisciplinary session at the Benguerir campus, exploring the dynamic intersection of Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence.
Keynote speaker Floris de Lange, Principal Investigator at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University, opened the session with a talk on the “Predictive Brain.” He demonstrated how human cognition continuously anticipates reality rather than merely reacting to it, offering compelling reasons to shift the artificial intelligence paradigm from brute-force processing power toward predictive framework design. Complementing this perspective, FMS researcher Karim Fifel illustrated how biological constraints and neural rhythms actively enable high-level intelligence.
Building on these insights, the multi-perspective Convergence panel brought together Floris de Lange, Karim Fifel, Raphael Liogier from the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), and SCI professors Manal El Akrouchi and Cody Moser. The panel emphasized that because human cognition is fundamentally an evolutionary and social construct, true alignment between human and artificial systems requires models that understand deep-seated social behaviors.
By removing traditional disciplinary boundaries between biology, sociology, computer science, and ethics, the session reinforced that AI remains an enhancing tool for human insight, showcasing SCI’s ongoing commitment to cross-cutting innovation across the university ecosystem.
