8th Leibniz MMS Days
March 26 - 28, 2025
Rostock-Warnemünde
Focus topic
Language Meaning: between Symbolic and Statistical Modelling
How does language encode and convey meaning? For decades, linguists have relied on formal logic to analyse the intricate
interplay between words and syntactic structures, gaining valuable insights into how lexical items, grammatical rules, and
semantic interpretations interact. Yet, recent advances in large language models demonstrate that purely statistical methods
can produce meaningful communication, allowing machines to engage with humans in natural dialogue. This progress presents an
interesting challenge: can we integrate logic-based frameworks and data-driven approaches to develop a more comprehensive
model of linguistic meaning? Such an undertaking will need to be grounded in mathematical modelling to achieve a deeper
understanding. Ultimately, this line of inquiry could help bridge the gap between logical semantics, conversational meaning,
and their broader cognitive and social foundations.
As we examine these issues, the conversation at the MMS Days offers a crucial moment to reassess current challenges in
language modelling from a broad, mathematically informed perspective. Historically, disciplines such as physics and economics
have achieved important breakthroughs by embracing fresh mathematical perspectives brought in from other areas. In the same
spirit, tapping into expertise beyond the language modelling community could help chart a similarly transformative path
forward.
