Grainger College of Engineering is offering a Seminar Course titled Biologically Plausible AI this Spring. Seminars on topics of current interest will be presented and the first introductory session will be held on Monday, January 26, 2026, at 4:30 pm in 0216 Siebel Center for CS . The instructors of the course (including CAII affiliates ChengXiang Zhai, Rhanor Gillette, and Ekaterina Gribkova, as well as Reiner Engelken, Yuji Zhang, Ke Yang, and Xiaocong Yang) welcome anyone interested to join the seminar, whether registered or not.
This Seminar course will discuss recent breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, many of which were inspired by our understanding of biological intelligence and how the human brain works. This course will explore a wide range of topics in AI, including current state-of-the-art AI models, with a particular focus on interpretability, and biologically plausible AI and its development towards human-level intelligence.
For those interested in registering, two sections are offered this semester:
- CS 591 BA1 (CRN 31655) – 1 credit hour, cross-listed with MCB 529 BA1 (CRN 78465)Includes attendance and participation in the seminars, selecting a paper of interest, and creating a recorded presentation.
- CS 591 BA2 (CRN 78443) – 2 credit hours, cross-listed with MCB 529 BA2 (CRN 78493)In addition to the requirements of the 1-credit section, this option gives students the opportunity to gain research experience through a hands-on mini-project, translating an idea into code and a short report. (Please do not register for any of our other sections/CRNs if you choose this one.)
Undergraduates are also encouraged to join, and they can register through the following form: https://my.siebelschool.illinois.edu/ugpetitions/. Please let the instructors know (gribkov2@illinois.edu) if you have any questions, difficulties with registration, or if you would like to sign up to a registration waitlist.