Bisk Named to DARPA ISAT Study Group

LTI Assistant Professor Yontatan Bisk was recently announced as part of the 2024 class of the DARPA ISAT study group

LTI Assistant Professor Yonatan Bisk is among the 2024 class of the Information Science and Technology (ISAT) study group of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), beginning in August.

Established in 1987 to support the scientific endeavors of the Department of Defense and independently assess its research effort in science and technology, the ISAT group annually elects 40 scientists and engineers at the top of their fields. The group has a say in guiding future opportunities for state-of-the-art research at the department.

Bisk's research includes the area of Embodied AI, which seeks to explore the intricacies of the language of robots, including how we use human language to control robots. He also explores how language models capture both concrete and abstract human thought, and the limitations of machine learning from textual sources.

"Language is the abstract social codification of our world and experiences," Bisk explains. "So, I'm interested in where meaning comes from, and connecting language to perception and control."

Bisk also heads the CLAW lab, which examines the intersections of robotics and language.

"This is quite prestigious and powerful in the sense of having an influence on the future direction of how DARPA invests in research" said LTI Director Mona Diab. "A testament to Yonatan’s forward thinking talents!"