Frictions, overlaps, and productive tensions: Embodiment in Creative AISaturday 14 November 2026, 10:00 – 11:15

Embodied AI is not a hardware spec

  • Phoenix PerryReader in Games and Creative Technologies Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London

Bolting a language model to an robot does not make it embodied. Drawing on Material Engagment theory and somaesthetic design, I’ll argue that embodiment is a relation between a body and a world, and ask who in this field is building relationships and who is just building tools.

Panel

Frictions, overlaps, and productive tensions: Embodiment in Creative AI

Saturday 14 November 2026, 10:00 – 11:15

Chairs: Fiona Zisch — UCL The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL; UCL Network for Creative AI, Annarita Papeschi — UCL The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL; UCL Network for Creative AI

AI research often approaches machine intelligence through frameworks that abstract cognition from bodies, spaces, and materiality. Yet embodiment remains a central concern across AI research and creative practice. This session explores the frictions, overlaps, and productive tensions between different understandings of the relationship between cognition, bodies, and environments. Through creative and critical AI practices, the discussion will examine how different approaches intersect, challenge, and inform one another, considering how these intersections might unsettle established distinctions between human and machine intelligence.

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