Stefano Sarao Manelli - Curriculum learning in humans and neural networks

Curriculum learning—the process of acquiring knowledge by mastering progressively harder tasks—is a fundamental yet poorly understood mechanism. While both humans and animals inherently rely on structured curricula to learn, artificial neural networks, despite being inspired by the brain, often fail to reap the same benefits. In this talk, I will compare learning paradigms in biological and artificial systems to explore their fundamental differences. Ultimately, I will offer insights into why modern neural networks struggle to leverage curriculum learning as effectively as their biological counterparts.