[IEEE UKI-RAS]-[Prestigious Talk] Prof. Tony Prescott --- Analysis and Synthesis of the Embodied Self: A Robotics Perspective

#cognitive-robotics #artificial-intelligence #cognition #robotics

Prof. Tony Prescott (Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of Sheffield in the UK) will present a Prestigious Lecture on "Analysis and Synthesis of the Embodied Self: A Robotics Perspective" at 11am (UTC+1) on 14 May 2025. 

Tony Prescott is Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of Sheffield in the UK. His background mixes psychology, neuroethology and brain theory with robotics and AI, and his research aims at answering questions about natural intelligence by creating synthetic entities with capacities such as perception, memory, emotion and sense of self. He has co-founded the International Living Machines conference series, and two UK companies developing robotic platforms and software. He has worked extensively on brain-inspired cognitive architectures for both mammal-like and humanoid robots, and with his collaborators he has created a number of novel animal-like robot platforms including Scratchbot, Shrewbot, and the commercial biomimetic robot MiRo-e. Tony has co-authored over 250 journal articles and conference papers and the edited volumes Scholarpedia of Touch and the Handbook of Living Machines. His popular science book The Psychology of Artificial Intelligence, published in 2024, explores the similarities and differences between human and artificial intelligence. Tony has received over £10M in research funding from UK and European Union sponsors and is currently funded by the EIC Pathfinder project CAVAA which is concerned with possibility of creating artificial awareness in machines. His research has been covered by major news and scientific media including the BBC, CNN, Discovery Channel, Science Magazine, France 24 and New Scientist.

Abstract: This talk will consider the specific challenge of synthesizing a robot “sense of self”. The starting point is an analysis of the human self that sees it as brought into being by the activity of a set of transient self-processes instantiated by the brain and body. I propose that we can better understand this self-system, and thereby this core aspect of the human condition, through embodied (robotic) modelling. The self begins with the brain’s discovery of the body, of its ability to control it, and of the distinctive dynamics of interoceptive compared to exteroceptive sensory signals. These processes give rise to a minimal sense of self as a bounded agent, upon which layers of reflective self-processes are constructed that extend the self in space and time and that allow the recognition of other-selves. To illustrate the talk, I will discuss ongoing attempts to create a sense of self for robots within my own lab and others.

Prof. Tony Prescott (Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of Sheffield in the UK) will present a Prestigious Lecture on "Analysis and Synthesis of the Embodied Self: A Robotics Perspective" at 11am (UTC+1) on 14 May 2025. 

The talk will last 90 minutes distributed between the Prestigious Lecture, followed by questions & answers.