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Women in AI Research (WiAIR)
Women in AI Research (WiAIR)

Can Language Alone Create Intelligence? Insights from Neuroscience and AI, with Dr. Anna Ivanova

17 June 2026 1:11:51 WiAIR

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About this episode

Do large language models truly understand language—or are they sophisticated pattern matchers?


In this conversation, Dr. Anna Ivanova (Asst. Prof. at Georgia Tech) explores one of the important questions in AI: the relationship between language, thought, and intelligence. Drawing from neuroscience, cognitive science, and AI research, Anna explains why language understanding is harder to define than most people realize, why reasoning and language are not the same thing, and what today's LLMs can and cannot tell us about human cognition.


Key Topics:

  • Do LLMs understand language or merely generate convincing text?
  • The difference between formal and functional linguistic competence
  • What LLMs can learn from language alone—and what they cannot
  • Why human cognition and AI cognition may be fundamentally different
  • Theory of mind, reasoning, and common misconceptions about AI capabilities
  • How cognitive scientists evaluate the "thinking" abilities of LLMs
  • What neuroscience can teach AI researchers about interpretability
  • Why understanding AI requires studying both behavior and internal representations
  • The future of multimodal models and AI cognition

Resources & Links:

  • What does it mean to understand language?
  • Dissociating language and thought in large language models
  • How to evaluate the cognitive abilities of LLMs
  • How Do LLMs Use Their Depth?
  • True Lens

Connect with Dr. Anna Ivanova:

https://bsky.app/profile/neuranna.bsky.social

https://x.com/neuranna


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Follow WiAIR at:

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  • <a href="https://women-in-ai-research.gi

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