Towards AI That Understands the Human World
COM3 Level 1
MPH, COM3 01-26/27/28
Abstract:
AI has reached a turning point, moving from tools to essential collaborators. For AI to truly integrate into human life, it must understand the world as humans do. This talk introduces Cognitive World Modeling, the next phase of AI. It unifies physical modeling (time, space, causality) with mental modeling (goals, beliefs, emotions, and social norms) into a persistent representation of reality. This allows AI systems to reason about meaning, context, and consequence, moving beyond reactive systems to ones that can plan, explain, adapt, and collaborate. Alignment and trust become inherent properties, not afterthoughts.
For business leaders, this means AI success hinges on human-contextual judgment. Cognitive World Modeling creates AI that understands users, anticipates needs, explains decisions, and adapts, transforming AI into a platform. In this new era, success will come from scaling trust and long-term value through AI.
Biography:
Pascale Fung is the Co-founder and CRIO at AMI Labs. She is a Chair Professor at the Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST). She is a Fellow of the ACL, AAAI, IEEE, and ISCA for her significant contribution to human-machine interactions and AI ethics. She is an expert on the Global Future Council of the World Economic Forum since 2016. She is on the Expert Network of the UN Advisory Body on AI. She was previously the Senior Director of AI Research at Meta-FAIR.