Asking questions about how we think, feel, perceive, and connect with others is part of what it means to be human. These fundamental questions remain a challenge for our science. Today, artificial intelligence offers something novel: not just new tools, but fundamentally new ways to think about the human mind and brain.
Weinberg College's AI in the Mind Sciences (AIMS) Initiative meets this moment. We’re using AI and machine learning to fuel our teaching and research in linguistics, neurobiology, philosophy, and psychology, creating a new foundation for discovery. We're not simply studying the mind and brain with better tools; we're imagining new kinds of questions, new ways of understanding, and new possibilities for what AI can reveal about ourselves.
AI forms a cornerstone of our Cognitive Science curriculum. In Introduction to Cognitive Science, students learn AI fundamentals and explore what these tools reveal about the mind and brain. In Proseminar in Cognitive Science, students learn to use LLMs critically when engaging with research papers — understanding both how these tools can clarify new concepts and where their limitations lie.
Students in the Neuroscience program explore how computation can help us understand biological intelligence. In Brain Function Through the Lens of Computation, students see how neural networks and other AI models deepen our understanding of the brain — and how insights from biological intelligence can, in turn, inspire advances in AI.
Psychiatric conditions can cause subtle changes in how someone moves and speaks — often a sign of worse treatment outcomes. Linguists and psychologists at Northwestern are collaborating to use AI tools to rapidly and objectively quantify changes in speech in depression, laying the groundwork for new tools to help clinicians and patients.
Researchers in Neurobiology use AI-based mathematical frameworks to help understand the brain. Their recent work reveals that the brain stores where we are in a surprisingly efficient, tree-like "mental map." These discoveries are now feeding into the design of new AI tools that enable machines to remember more information using far less computing power.
Erika Exton, PhD uses machine learning and AI methods to advance speech science. Through AIMS, she is introducing students to AI methods for studying language and speech and using AI tools to study how Major Depressive Disorder impacts speech. Dr. Exton earned her PhD in hearing and speech sciences from the University of Maryland in 2024.