Andrew Barron: Why the honey bee is smarter than ChatGPT GRCDI Seminar

How smart is the honey bee really? This lecture considers how we might assess and compare intelligence in radically different forms of natural and artificial intelligence. Andrew Barron, Director of the Macquarie University Minds and Intelligences Research Centre, argues that, in some crucial aspects, the honey bee is significantly smarter than ChatGPT and the best that contemporary AI has to offer. He will discuss what lessons AI and robotics developers might learn from consideration of the humble bee.

Andrew completed his PhD in Zoology at the University of Cambridge in 1999. His lab at Macquarie University studies honey bee neurobiology, specialising in understanding the incredible intelligence of bees and how sophisticated social behaviour is possible with such a tiny brain.

His research is currently supported by awards from the Ian and Shirley Norman Foundation, the Australian Research Council, Horticulture Innovation and the Templeton World Charity Foundation. He has held fellowships from the Australian Research Council, the Leverhulme Trust, the Fulbright Commission and the Royal Society of London.

Please only register if you plan to attend in person. Details for joining online will be made available closer to the event.