85-210 Language, AI, and Thought

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

This course explores the nature of human language, how it emerges, and how we can model this using AI. Specifically. 1. What is unique about human language and thought? 2. How can we use AI as a model of human language and thought? 3. How does the brain process language, how does this compare to AI? 4. What are the genetic, physiological, and social bases for language? 5. To what degree can these bases be realized in AI? Is human-like AI fundamentally impossible? 6. How do children learn language? Can AI learn like children? 7. What causes language impairments and can we model this? 8. How do people learn second languages? 9. Are there language universals? 10. How and why did languages evolve and how do they change over time? 11. What are the relations between language, emotion, and gesture?

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Fall 2026

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