Cognitive
Linguistics for AI.
From foundational theory to frontier applications — 11 specialized modules bridging cognitive science and modern AI systems.
Modules
11
Lessons
32
Hours
21h
AI Research Tools Lab
Five live CL tools — CMT Workbench, Frame Grapher, CxG Debugger, Bias Auditor, Interpretability Dashboard.
Foundations of CL & AI
4 Lessons · 2.5h
Key Concepts
Understanding the discipline that changed how we think about language, meaning, and mind — and why it's the key to better AI.
- — What is Cognitive Linguistics?
- — Why CL Matters for AI
- — Core Principles & AI Parallels
- — The Centaur Model
Embodied Cognition & NLP
3 Lessons · 1.8h
Key Concepts
How the body shapes meaning — and the profound challenge this poses for disembodied AI systems.
- — Embodied Meaning
- — Grounding Language in AI
- — Sensorimotor Grounding in Robotics
Conceptual Metaphor
2 Lessons · 1.5h
Key Concepts
How systematic metaphorical mappings structure human reasoning — and how AI models learn and use them.
- — Metaphor Theory & LLMs
- — Metaphor in Prompt Engineering
Frame Semantics
2 Lessons · 1.5h
Key Concepts
Charles Fillmore's Frame Semantics — the theory that every word activates a rich background knowledge structure.
- — Frames & Knowledge Structures
- — FrameNet & AI Applications
Prototype Theory
2 Lessons · 1.2h
Key Concepts
Why human categories are not boolean — and the implications for AI classification systems.
- — Categories & Prototypes
- — Fuzzy Logic & Classification
Construction Grammar
2 Lessons · 1.5h
Key Concepts
Construction Grammar's insight that form and meaning are inseparable — and why this matters for transformers.
- — Constructions & Language Models
- — Syntax-Semantics in Transformers
Cognitive Semantics
3 Lessons · 2.0h
Key Concepts
Pre-conceptual spatial patterns that structure all human thought — and their surprising presence in AI systems.
- — Image Schemas
- — Semantic Roles & NLU
- — Event Semantics & Temporal Reasoning
Discourse & Pragmatics
2 Lessons · 1.3h
Key Concepts
How texts cohere beyond the sentence level — and what AI needs to understand discourse structure.
- — Coherence & Discourse
- — Grice's Maxims & Chatbots
AI Applications
3 Lessons · 2.2h
Key Concepts
Synthesizing the entire course into a systematic framework for cognitively-grounded prompt engineering.
- — CL-Informed Prompt Design
- — Bias, Ethics & Language
- — Cognitive Homogenization
Frontiers & Future
4 Lessons · 2.8h
Key Concepts
What would it take for AI to achieve genuine cognitive-linguistic competence? What does CL tell us about the path forward?
- — Multimodal Cognition
- — AGI & Cognitive Depth
- — Neuro-Symbolic Reasoning
- — CL-Based Interpretability
CL in the Era of Modern LLMs
4 Lessons · 3.0h
Key Concepts
Research-backed techniques for using Conceptual Metaphor Theory to dramatically improve LLM reasoning accuracy, coherence, and creative depth.
- — CMT as LLM Prompting Paradigm
- — Frame Semantics in Modern LLMs
- — CxG & Syntactic-Semantic Integration
- — Cognitive Engineering & Ethical AI