7th Leibniz MMS Days
April 10 - April 12, 2024
Kaiserslautern
Focus topic
Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of Language
Mathematical models of aspects of human minds have been a vision at least since Leibniz's dictum
calculemus
(“Let's calculate”). Modern language models partly validate Leibniz's vision, as digital algorithms output text strings
close to what humans might generate. But though economically already important, large language models still have severe
shortcomings, and some of these may be solved by integrating ideas from language models that are strongly grounded in
assumptions about human cognition: generative, formal language theory, logical calculi of linguistic meaning,
psycho-physical models of speech and game-theoretic models of social interaction, all of which currently are not
integrated well with other language models.
The discussion of language models at the MMS Days provides an opportunity to look critically at current challenges of
language models within the broader mathematical modeling community. Outside perspectives are very valuable at this point
since breakthroughs in physics, economics, and other fields have been enabled at similar moments by innovation or adoption
of novel mathematical techniques.
