On October 28, 2025, the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University had the great honor of hosting Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Maass, a distinguished scholar renowned for his pioneering work at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence. 

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In the morning, Prof. Maass delivered a thought-provoking talk titled “Advancing AI with Insights from Brain Intelligence”. He introduced some inspiring ideas from his recent work, including Behavioral Time Scale Synaptic Plasticity (BTSP) and cognitive maps, which provide biologically inspired frameworks for more adaptable and explainable AI systems. Furthermore, he described new findings demonstrating how episodic memories enhance planning and decision-making through context-awareness and explainability, thereby providing an intriguing alternative to classical Reinforcement Learning approaches. Together, these works outline a new class of brain-inspired algorithms that combine interpretability, online adaptability, and energy efficiency, offering a path toward the next generation of neuromorphic intelligence.

In the afternoon, Prof. Maass visited the MIND Lab, where he engaged in an in-depth exchange with faculty members and students. The discussion centered on the future of brain-inspired intelligence, exploring how principles of neural computation can guide the design of energy-efficient and explainable AI models. Lab members shared their ongoing research in neuromorphic computing and spiking neural networks, sparking lively debate about integrating biological mechanisms into scalable AI architectures. Prof. Maass also offered insightful feedback on several student projects and shared his perspectives on the challenges of bridging neuroscience and AI.

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The visit provided a valuable platform for intellectual exchange and collaboration, strengthening the MIND Lab’s mission to advance next-generation, brain-inspired AI through interdisciplinary research and innovation.