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We are pleased to announce that Professor Erkki Oja, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Aalto University and recipient of the IEEE Neural Networks Pioneer Award, has been honored with the title of academician of the World Academy of Artificial Consciousness (WAAC) for his groundbreaking research in independent component analysis (ICA) and Hebbian learning rules.
Professor Oja has long been dedicated to research in the fields of neural networks and machine learning. He proposed the famous “Oja’s learning rule,” an improved version of the standard Hebbian learning rule, which solves stability issues through multiplicative normalization and provides a computational model for principal component analysis (PCA). Additionally, Professor Oja and his collaborators introduced an independent component analysis method based on a general nonlinear Hebbian learning rule, offering new perspectives in the fields of blind source separation and signal processing.
- Global Collaboration and Academic Ecosystem
Academicians of the World Academy for Artificial Consciousness hail from institutions such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, the University of California, the French Academy of Sciences, the University of Padua, the University of Queensland, Columbia University, and the University of Exeter. Honorary Academicians come from a wide range of countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Spain, and China. In addition, leading scientists from prominent research institutes and technology companies—such as Google, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and ZEEKR—also participate.
- About WAAC
The World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (https://www.waac.ac/) is a global academic institution established in Paris in 2025. Its mission is to advance frontier research and international collaboration in artificial consciousness through the integration of science, technology, and philosophy. The Academy publishes open research, policy recommendations, evaluation standards, and more. The current President is Academician Yucong Duan, and the Secretary-General is Dr. Yingbo Li. The Honorary Academician List: On May 3, 2025, WAAC released its first batch of Top 100 Honorary Academicians, recognizing scholars who have made foundational or leading contributions to the theory of artificial consciousness.