Josh Bongard
@doctorjosh.bsky.social
Robots. AI. Xenobots. meclab.org
New paper dropped!
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
October 12, 2025 at 12:52 PM
New paper dropped!
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
For those interested in our growing body of work on "polycomputation", here's my attempt to summarize it in 40 minutes:
youtu.be/XnObbF2FkE4?...
youtu.be/XnObbF2FkE4?...
Computational granular metamaterials (CGMMs)
YouTube video by Josh Bongard
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM
For those interested in our growing body of work on "polycomputation", here's my attempt to summarize it in 40 minutes:
youtu.be/XnObbF2FkE4?...
youtu.be/XnObbF2FkE4?...
Lab member Krishna Srinivasan delivers his very first academic presentation at the @alife2025.bsky.social conference.
Go Krishna!
Go Krishna!
October 9, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Lab member Krishna Srinivasan delivers his very first academic presentation at the @alife2025.bsky.social conference.
Go Krishna!
Go Krishna!
My friend and colleague @drmichaellevin.bsky.social delivering his @alife2025.bsky.social keynote address...
Remotely?
In person?
...?
Remotely?
In person?
...?
October 7, 2025 at 2:20 PM
My friend and colleague @drmichaellevin.bsky.social delivering his @alife2025.bsky.social keynote address...
Remotely?
In person?
...?
Remotely?
In person?
...?
Lab member Nate Gaylinn describing evolutionary ramps and ratchets @alife2025.bsky.social...
(Paper coming soon...)
(Paper coming soon...)
October 7, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Lab member Nate Gaylinn describing evolutionary ramps and ratchets @alife2025.bsky.social...
(Paper coming soon...)
(Paper coming soon...)
Thanks for hosting us Foresight Institute!
(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...
(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...
Tarin Ziyaee, Mike Levin and Josh Bongard | Embodied Natural Intelligence VS Embodied AI
YouTube video by Foresight Institute
www.youtube.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Thanks for hosting us Foresight Institute!
(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...
(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...
#AIForGood attendees: thanks for the great questions about xenobots!
Some of you asked about the demo. If you missed it, it's here: tinyurl.com/AI4Good25.
Some of you asked about the demo. If you missed it, it's here: tinyurl.com/AI4Good25.
July 11, 2025 at 9:19 AM
#AIForGood attendees: thanks for the great questions about xenobots!
Some of you asked about the demo. If you missed it, it's here: tinyurl.com/AI4Good25.
Some of you asked about the demo. If you missed it, it's here: tinyurl.com/AI4Good25.
Just arrived at the UN's #AIForGood Symposium in Geneva.
Was in time to catch Daniela Rus' talk on AI Governance; I'll be speaking about #xenobots tomorrow.
(Joint work w/ Doug Blackiston, @samkriegman.com & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social).
Was in time to catch Daniela Rus' talk on AI Governance; I'll be speaking about #xenobots tomorrow.
(Joint work w/ Doug Blackiston, @samkriegman.com & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social).
July 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Just arrived at the UN's #AIForGood Symposium in Geneva.
Was in time to catch Daniela Rus' talk on AI Governance; I'll be speaking about #xenobots tomorrow.
(Joint work w/ Doug Blackiston, @samkriegman.com & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social).
Was in time to catch Daniela Rus' talk on AI Governance; I'll be speaking about #xenobots tomorrow.
(Joint work w/ Doug Blackiston, @samkriegman.com & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social).
Looking forward to speaking at the first Biohybrid Robotics Conference tomorrow!
biohybrid-robotics.com
biohybrid-robotics.com
July 7, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Looking forward to speaking at the first Biohybrid Robotics Conference tomorrow!
biohybrid-robotics.com
biohybrid-robotics.com
Lab alumnus @samkriegman.com just won a very prestigious NSF CAREER Award.
Congratulations Sam!!
www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/...
Congratulations Sam!!
www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/...
June 14, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Lab alumnus @samkriegman.com just won a very prestigious NSF CAREER Award.
Congratulations Sam!!
www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/...
Congratulations Sam!!
www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/...
Reposted by Josh Bongard
Reminder that my book "Evolution of Biological Information", which was pandemically overpriced by @princetonupress.bsky.social, is 50% off until May 31, with the checkout code "BLOOM50". That's a reasonable price. press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
The Evolution of Biological Information
Why information is the unifying principle that allows us to understand the evolution of complexity in nature
press.princeton.edu
May 26, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Reminder that my book "Evolution of Biological Information", which was pandemically overpriced by @princetonupress.bsky.social, is 50% off until May 31, with the checkout code "BLOOM50". That's a reasonable price. press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
So proud of *Dr.* Caitlin Grasso (www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-g...).
She empowered herself by discovering how to empower machines (bit.ly/3Wwloi4).
Congratulations again Caitlin.
She empowered herself by discovering how to empower machines (bit.ly/3Wwloi4).
Congratulations again Caitlin.
May 20, 2025 at 1:15 PM
So proud of *Dr.* Caitlin Grasso (www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-g...).
She empowered herself by discovering how to empower machines (bit.ly/3Wwloi4).
Congratulations again Caitlin.
She empowered herself by discovering how to empower machines (bit.ly/3Wwloi4).
Congratulations again Caitlin.
Reposted by Josh Bongard
Can AI drive a shift toward systems that mimic the brain? Can we develop intelligent matter that learns, adapts, and processes information? Check this @nature.com paper @drmichaellevin.bsky.social @doctorjosh.bsky.social ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfil...
May 15, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Can AI drive a shift toward systems that mimic the brain? Can we develop intelligent matter that learns, adapts, and processes information? Check this @nature.com paper @drmichaellevin.bsky.social @doctorjosh.bsky.social ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfil...
Reposted by Josh Bongard
Fun time to be in the US academia
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
www.nature.com
May 2, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Fun time to be in the US academia
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Snowflake robotics.
Presented at the 2025 Embodied Intelligence Conference.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbAq...
Presented at the 2025 Embodied Intelligence Conference.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbAq...
Josh Bongard: SNOWFLAKE ROBOTICS
YouTube video by AgriFoRwArdS CDT YouTube Channel
www.youtube.com
April 23, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Snowflake robotics.
Presented at the 2025 Embodied Intelligence Conference.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbAq...
Presented at the 2025 Embodied Intelligence Conference.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbAq...
Today's #robotics lecture:
the evolution of communication.
[Fun stuff starts at 27m]
youtu.be/JxQTaXSTiqI
the evolution of communication.
[Fun stuff starts at 27m]
youtu.be/JxQTaXSTiqI
2025 Evolutionary robotics course. Lecture 26. Evolution of communication.
YouTube video by Josh Bongard
youtu.be
April 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Today's #robotics lecture:
the evolution of communication.
[Fun stuff starts at 27m]
youtu.be/JxQTaXSTiqI
the evolution of communication.
[Fun stuff starts at 27m]
youtu.be/JxQTaXSTiqI
We published a new xenobot-related paper today:
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
In a nutshell: building xenobots from frog "explants" is good because explants, apparently, come with adaptive potential "built in".
This paper took 6 years and 10 co-authors (see post #2) to reach the light.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
In a nutshell: building xenobots from frog "explants" is good because explants, apparently, come with adaptive potential "built in".
This paper took 6 years and 10 co-authors (see post #2) to reach the light.
Revealing non-trivial information structures in aneural biological tissues via functional connectivity
Author summary A central challenge in understanding several diverse processes in biology, including morphogenesis, wound healing, and development, is learning from empirical data how information is in...
journals.plos.org
April 15, 2025 at 4:26 PM
We published a new xenobot-related paper today:
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
In a nutshell: building xenobots from frog "explants" is good because explants, apparently, come with adaptive potential "built in".
This paper took 6 years and 10 co-authors (see post #2) to reach the light.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
In a nutshell: building xenobots from frog "explants" is good because explants, apparently, come with adaptive potential "built in".
This paper took 6 years and 10 co-authors (see post #2) to reach the light.
2025 Evolutionary robotics course. Lecture 24. Self replication.
YouTube video by Josh Bongard
youtu.be
April 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Reposted by Josh Bongard
New pre-print just dropped, with @doctorjosh.bsky.social, @alicepatania.bsky.social, and Pedro Mediano.
In it we ask: when an algebraic topologist and an information theorist talk about "higher-order" structure, are they talking about the same thing?
A 🧵1/n
arxiv.org/abs/2504.10140
In it we ask: when an algebraic topologist and an information theorist talk about "higher-order" structure, are they talking about the same thing?
A 🧵1/n
arxiv.org/abs/2504.10140
The topology of synergy: linking topological and information-theoretic approaches to higher-order interactions in complex systems
The study of irreducible higher-order interactions has become a core topic of study in complex systems. Two of the most well-developed frameworks, topological data analysis and multivariate informatio...
arxiv.org
April 15, 2025 at 11:38 AM
New pre-print just dropped, with @doctorjosh.bsky.social, @alicepatania.bsky.social, and Pedro Mediano.
In it we ask: when an algebraic topologist and an information theorist talk about "higher-order" structure, are they talking about the same thing?
A 🧵1/n
arxiv.org/abs/2504.10140
In it we ask: when an algebraic topologist and an information theorist talk about "higher-order" structure, are they talking about the same thing?
A 🧵1/n
arxiv.org/abs/2504.10140
Reposted by Josh Bongard
Nam Le presents swarm models that show emergence of higher-order evolutionary entities
#NERCCS2025
#NERCCS2025
April 9, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Nam Le presents swarm models that show emergence of higher-order evolutionary entities
#NERCCS2025
#NERCCS2025