By Carolyn Y. Johnson / Globe Staff/ October 6, 2013

The bold quest to build intelligent machines has, after more than half a century, brought us to this point: Scientists can build a Jeopardy! champ, but a child can handily outperform a computer when it comes to deciphering social situations, learning, or pretty much any activity outside the machines narrow band of expertise.

To change that, a group of leading infant researchers, neurobiologists, computer scientists, and robotics and software companies are joining forces in a major effort to finally achieve and even expand the grandiose ambitions of artificial intelligence, supported by a $25 million federal grant.

At a new center based at MIT, researchers will seek to craft intelligence that includes not just knowledge but also an infants ability to intuit basic concepts of psychology or physics. Full story for BostonGlobe.com subscribers.

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MIT artificial intelligence center, backed by $25m federal grant, learning from infant brain research