The Embodiment Challenge for Artificial Intelligence
Philosophy & Technology June 30, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s13347-026-01139-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Embodied cognition Philosophy of technology Enthusiasm Artificial life Field mathematics Artificial general intelligence Cognitive robotics Cognitive science Replicate Symbolic artificial intelligence Human intelligence |
| Key points | Argues that artificial systems cannot replicate the self-sustaining, survival-driven processes essential to naturally cognizing systems due to lack of biological embodiment, situatedness, and autonomy. |
Abstract
Abstract Recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) renewed the enthusiasm for what AIs can do. While some argue that AIs can be viable models for understanding human cognition, others go further and claim that future AIs might display cognitive capacities. However, although some current models excel at tasks such as language processing and pattern recognition, their operations fundamentally differ from human cognition. Unlike humans, who learn through embodied, intersubjective experiences tied to survival and adaptation, AIs typically cannot undergo structural changes due to their disembodied nature. To understand the significance of this difference, I turn to the radically embodied framework and raise the embodiment challenge for AI, namely: due to the lack of biological embodiment, situatedness, and autonomy, artificial systems cannot replicate the self-sustaining, survival-driven processes essential to naturally cognizing systems. I conclude that creating a genuinely cognitive artificial intelligence would require achieving artificial life first.
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Citations in the library
Cites 6
- Evolving Enactivism The MIT Press eBooks May 19, 2017
- The Problem of Meaning in AI and Robotics: Still with Us after All These Years Philosophies April 3, 2019
- A twofold tale of one mind: revisiting REC's multi-storey story. Synthese 2021
- Converging enactivisms: radical enactivism meets linguistic bodies Adaptive Behavior June 10, 2021
- The New Science of the Mind August 13, 2010
and 1 more in the library