I am an assistant professor at Leiden University’s Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), where I co-founded the Creative Intelligence Lab (CIL). This lab brings together researchers from the cognitive and computer sciences who have a shared interest in the foundations of intelligence, both ‘in carbo’ and ‘in silico’, and who recognise creativity and playfulness as key factors in scientific innovation.

More information about Max van Duijn

I am an assistant professor at Leiden University’s Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), where I co-founded the Creative Intelligence Lab (CIL). This lab brings together researchers from the cognitive and computer sciences who have a shared interest in the foundations of intelligence, both ‘in carbo’ and ‘in silico’, and who recognise creativity and playfulness as key factors in scientific innovation.

I have a background in linguistics, literature, and cognitive science; my research has always connected topics and methods from both the sciences and humanities. Within my NWO Veni project (started 2020) I collect a large number of stories told by children aged 4-12 and extract features relevant to ‘fictional minds’ using computational techniques. This fuels new ways in which the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) can be modelled and understood. I am involved in the NWO Zwaartekracht Hybrid Intelligence and the Helsinki-based NetResilience; in both projects my involvement centres around modelling ToM and related forms of social intelligence.

In addition, I am a fervent educator, involved in (setting up) the BSc Data Science & Artificial Intelligence and the MSc in Media Technology. I supervise two internal PhD candidates and will soon open a vacancy for a third position.

My work is published in English and Dutch, in scholarly as well as popular venues. In June 2014 I was selected as a popular science blogger featured on the "Faces of Science"-webpage of the Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW): facesofscience

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