Josh Bongard
@DoctorJosh
Robotics professor at the University of Vermont. Also into xenobots, crowdsourcing, evolution, machine learning, artificial intelligence.
Discussing computer designed organisms (AKA "Xenobots") with CNN anchor @FWhitfield. Joint work with @drmichaellevin, Douglas Blackiston and @Kriegmerica. youtube.com/watch?v=Q_pFkP…
Prof Josh Bongard: What are Biological Robots? How AI is Reshaping Life, Consciousness & Matter! @DoctorJosh
Can rotors EAT other robots? We demonstrate a new "Robot Metabolism" process where robots grow by consuming parts from other robots: science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… x.com/i/status/19459…
Scientists at Columbia University have developed robots that can physically grow, heal, and improve themselves "True autonomy means robots must not only think for themselves but also physically sustain themselves," explains Philippe Martin Wyder, lead author and researcher at…
Just heard that @StephenAtHome is retiring. See you on the beach, Colbert! youtu.be/z0WxBBsccyU?t=…
At the world's first Workshop on Computationally Designed Organisms (cdo2025.github.io), @drmichaellevin shows that biobots "live", even "after" the "death" of the human donor. @D22025Dickinson, you were missed!
Presented at @GeccoConf in Malaga. ZapGPT - how natural language can be a control interface for guiding emergent behavior in simulated agents (cells). This work’s done in Prof. @DoctorJosh’s lab and in collaboration with Prof. @drmichaellevin’s lab. Video demonstration below.
Earlier at the #AIforGood Global Summit! AI takes to the skies, the soil, and beyond at the Frontier Stage today. Here is a summary what happened: 👉 Building the First Living Robots This visionary talk introduced “living robots,” built from biological cells instead of…
#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.
Just arrived at the UN's #AIForGood Symposium in Geneva. Was in time to catch @DanielaRus' talk on AI Governance; I'll be speaking about #xenobots tomorrow. (Joint work w/ @DougBlackiston, @Kriegmerica, @drmichaellevin).
Looking forward to speaking at the first Biohybrid Robotics Symposium (BRS) tomorrow! biohybrid-robotics.com
We made it to Times Square! The ITU #AIforGood Global Summit, taking place 8 - 11 July at Geneva's largest #exhibition center, lit up Time Square in the Big Apple this week. Our colleagues in New York joined thousands of people to watch our milestone moment on the big screen, a…
The 2025 Artificial Life Conference is happening in Kyoto later this year! The theme is "Ciphers of Life", showcasing an incredible roster of keynote speakers in a hybrid, remote + in-person setup. Join us: 2025.alife.org #alife #artificiallife #alife2025
Northwestern Engineering’s Sam Kriegman has received a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the foundation’s most prestigious honor for junior faculty members. Congrats, Sam! spr.ly/60174XDyW
Former lab member @Kriegmerica just received an @NSF CAREER award. Congratulations Sam!! nsf.gov/awardsearch/sh…
I've been experimenting with attention mechanisms to design locomotion controllers that adapt to different shapes, this is the same controller running on two different bodies github.com/juniorrojas/mo… paper coming soon 👀
Decoupling Representation and Learning in Genetic Programming, at #GPTP2025 workshop in Michigan . Work’s done from Prof @DoctorJosh’s lab. LaSER can improve generalization, allow for a natural integration with ML regression techniques, and modularity. Arxiv will appear soon.
If humans want to survive long-term on Earth, we will have to think big. REALLY big. Proud to present ENGINEERING EARTH: Sci-Fi Solutions to Earth's Problems. youtube.com/watch?v=rN5f72…
What is "Life"...? In a new preprint with @drmichaellevin, @karina__kofman, and @blaiseaguera, we used LLMs to map the semantic space emerging from 68 expert-provided definitions for "Life". Here's what we did, what we found, and what it means for what lives... 1/n