Cognitive Science & Psychology
Academic Area
Understanding how minds perceive, reason, learn, and act.
Thinking About Thinking supports interdisciplinary inquiry into cognitive science and psychology as foundational disciplines for understanding intelligence in humans.
This focus area brings together researchers and practitioners working across cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, behavioural science, and computational modelling of cognition.
Our emphasis is on mental representations, cognitive mechanisms, and behaviour: the structures and processes that underlie intelligence and shape how individuals and groups understand, adapt to, and interact with the world.
Core Questions We Explore
How do humans represent the world, and learn, and reason about it?
What can psychological and cognitive models explain—and where do they fall short?
What cognitive mechanisms underlie perception, memory, attention, and decision-making?
How do individual cognition and collective behaviour interact?
How should insights from cognitive science inform artificial intelligence and human–AI interaction?
Upcoming Events
Conferences
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are core themes across our flagship events.
At our AE Global Summits, we convene researchers, builders, and policymakers to examine Open Problems in AI research, infrastructure, applications, and governance.
At our Conference on the Mathematics of Neuroscience and AI we explore the deeper mathematical and computational foundations of learning and intelligence, often in dialogue with neuroscience and cognitive science.
AE Global Summit
Artificial Intelligence, Startup and the future of Society
November 2026
London, United Kingdom
neuroMonster
Neuroscience, Machine Learning, and the Mathematics of Intelligence
June 2026
Rome, Italy
Register →
Recordings - Coming Soon
We publish recordings of talks, panels, and seminars to make serious thinking about artificial intelligence and machine learning accessible beyond the conference hall.
ThAT Ambassador Programme
The Thinking About Thinking Ambassador Programme is an open, application-based pathway for students and early stage career researchers who want to take part in serious, interdisciplinary conversations about intelligence.
Ambassadors support Thinking About Thinking’s conferences, workshops, and community initiatives, helping to extend thoughtful dialogue across universities, disciplines, and countries. The programme is designed for people who care deeply about ideas, collaboration, and building intellectual communities.
Outstanding Ambassadors who demonstrate sustained contribution, leadership, and intellectual engagement may be invited into the Thinking About Thinking Fellowship, a private, invitation-only programme for long-term contributors.
