DARPA Expands 'Lifelong' Machine Learning Effort

As AI and machine learning systems advance, real-world applications are exposing limitations such as the inability to adapt to situations beyond the narrow tasks those systems were trained to perform. Indeed, some observers note that AI researchers still do not understand the mechanisms by which automated systems learn. As AI researchers grapple with these unknowns, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a program last year aimed at advancing "lifelong machine learning." This week, the research agency announced funding for three university research teams that will tackle various components of the adaptability problem. Those efforts augment initial research at Columbia University focused on reproducing neural networks.