"The Embodied Mind of a New Robot Scientist" by Michael Levin

This is a ~58 minute talk titled "The Embodied Mind of a New Robot Scientist: symmetries between AI and bioengineering the agential material of life and their impact on technology and on our future" which I gave as a closing Keynote to the ALIFE conference in Japan (https://2025.alife.org/). This is a different talk than any I've done before, in that besides going over the remarkable capacities of living material, I discuss 1) the symmetries between how all agents navigate their world and how science discoveries are made, and 2) a new robot scientist platform that we have created. With respect to the latter, I discuss how the body and mind of this new embodied AI can serve as a translation and integration layer between human scientists and living matter such as the cells which make up Xenobots.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Introduction and framework

(10:11) Towards anatomical compiler

(20:16) Anatomical intelligence and bioelectricity

(29:10) Rewriting morphological goals

(36:08) Xenobots and anthrobots

(45:02) MomBot robotic scientist

(51:24) Future directions and thanks

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What is Thoughtforms Life?

A podcast by Professor Michael Levin exploring the frontiers of biology, cognition, and emergence. Engage in conversations about morphogenesis, bioelectricity, and synthetic life — and uncover how intelligence and agency emerge from the most fundamental levels of nature.