Embodiment has become an important concept in many areas of cognitive science. There are, however, very different notions of exactly what embodiment is and what kind of body is required for what kind of embodied cognition. Hence, while many would agree that humans are embodied cognizers, there is much less agreement on what kind of artefact could be considered as embodied. This paper identifies and contrasts five different notions of embodiment which can roughly be characterized as (1) structural coupling between agent and environment, (2) historical embodiment as the result of a history of structural coupling, (3) physical embodiment, (4) `organismoid' embodiment, i.e. organism-like bodily form (e.g., humanoid robots), and (5) organismic embodiment of autopoietic, living systems. 1.

A framework for understanding and exploiting embodiment is presented which is not dependent on any specific ontological context. This framework is founded on a new definition of embodiment, based on the relational dynamics that exist between biological organisms and their environments, and inspired by the structural dynamics of the Escherichia coli bacteria. Recognition is given to the role played by physically instantiated bodies, but in such a way that this can be meaningfully abstracted within the constraints implied by the term 'embodiment', and applied in a variety of operational contexts. This is supported by ongoing experimental work in which the relational dynamics that exist between E. coli and its environment are applied in a variety of software environments, using Cellular Automata (CA) with artificial 'sensory' and 'effector' surfaces, producing qualitatively similar 'chemotaxic' behaviours in a variety of operational domains.

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Forty-two! yelled Loonquawl. Is that all you ve got to show for seven and a half million years w ork? I checked it very thoroughly, said the computer, and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you ve never actually known what the question is. But it was the Great Question! The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, howled Loonquawl. Yes, sai d Deep Thou ght wit h th e air of on e wh o suffers fools gla dly, but what a ctually is it? Douglas Adams, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy 1

In this paper we outline a theory of the nature of self-directed agents. On our account what is distinctive about self-directed agents is that they are able to anticipate interaction processes and evaluate their performance. This allows self-directed agents to modify their behaviour context sensitively so as to improve the achievement of goals, and in certain instances construct new goals. We contrast self-directedness with reactive action processes that are not modifiable by the agent, though they may be modified by supra-agent processes such as populational adaptation or external design. Self-directedness lies at the nexus of a set of issues concerning the evolution and nature of intentionality, intelligence and agency. It provides the core of a biologically grounded account of intentional agency. 1

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This paper discusses different approaches in cognitive science and artificial intelligence research from the perspective of radical constructivism, addressing especially their relation to the biologically based theories of von Uexkll, Piaget as well as Maturana and Varela. In particular recent work in `New AI' and adaptive robotics on situated and embodied intelligence is examined, and we discuss in detail the role of constructive processes as the basis of situatedness in both robots and living organisms. Keywords: adaptive robotics, artificial intelligence, embodied cognition, radical constructivism, situatedness Running head: The Construction of `Reality' in the Robot To appear in Foundations of Science, special issue on `Radical Constructivism and the Sciences' (guest editor: Alexander Riegler), late 2000 or early 2001. Preliminary (almost final) version 18.3, 000731. 2 3 1. Introduction Let us start with the title of this paper: "The Construction of `Reality' in the ...

We describe the efforts of bridging a fieldwork study which used ethnographic techniques at two industrial assembly sites into a functional prototype for service and maintenance work. The primacy of the human body and the mobile nature of such activity are put forward as important design incentives, which guides the design of the mobile support system. The situatedness in the physical world is proposed to enable service technicians to continue to collaborate in a way which is in line with their current work practice, permeated by physical collaboration, having presence in the world, and human-to-human interactions.

Ever since Czech writer Karel Capek’s well-known play “R.U.R. – Rossum’s universal robots” [Capek], first published in 1920 and performed in 1921, man-made robots of human-like shape have inspired fiction writers to envision worlds with artificial creatures far superior to human beings – either in friendly coexistence or taking over by eliminating their creators and leaving them behind as an ephemeral step in the evolution of life on earth. Roboticists and AI researchers, by contrast, have come to realise that there is still a long way to go if only parts of such visions are to come true. Almost every aspect of research on humanoid robotics that has been touched on across scientific communities has taken researchers to the edge of current technology. Moreover, it has also become obvious how limited our knowledge about ourselves is when it comes to implanting those skills into a mechanical body that are neces-sary to enable a robot to mimic basic aspects of human intelligence. However, due to recent developments in enabling technologies [Brooks] (processing power, mechatronics, walking machines, articulated vision heads and more) and also due to findings and developments in other fields (e.g. studies of the human brain, linguistics, psychology), we currently observe a shift in the view of what artificial intelligence is and how it can be put to work in operational

Outsourcing of Information Technology (IT) services which are central to business strategy may be risky. Managers have made the outsourcing decision both to concentrate financially on the core competencies and to rid themselves of a troublesome and cost inefficient department. More recent research has, however, cast doubt on the promises of huge savings.