The Embodied AI

The journey into the world of Embodied AI begins with understanding the term itself. While many are familiar with AI, or Artificial Intelligence, the addition of Embodied might need further explanation. To ensure everyone is on the same page, let’s break down the name, starting from the end and working our way back, from “intelligence” to “embodied”.

Intelligence

The word “intelligence” originates from the Latin nouns intelligentia or intellēctus, which in turn come from the verb intelligere, meaning to comprehend or perceive. Throughout history, this term has evolved to encompass human capabilities such as reasoning, problem-solving, learning from complex situations, and decision-making.

Artificial

What we nowadays call AI is a system based on statistical machine learning, specifically deep learning via artificial neural networks. This methodology requires enormous amounts of data to “learn” from. In plain terms, it’s a powerful computer system that has learned to predict the most probable next steps based on vast amounts of data. This powerful tool has led to the current state of artificial intelligence, enabling the development of numerous tools capable of processing information, solving problems, and making decisions.

Embodied

What sets an AI like ChatGPT apart from a human? The difference lies in the dimension of intelligence they span. Specifically, an intelligence like ChatGPT interacts with the world through a machine, processing text, image, or audio inputs provided by the user. Humans, on the other hand, possess a dimension of intelligence that includes perception—the ability to observe and perceive the world through vision and other sensory tools. These sensing tools enable a new type of intelligence, derived from the ability to process information and make informed decisions based on the data received. This is what “embodied” means: the integration of smart behaviors with sensing tools, allowing agents like humans or robots to perceive and act within our world.

Embodied AI represents a significant evolution in the field of artificial intelligence, blending computational power with sensory perception to create more adaptive and intelligent systems. This journey will take us through various dimensions of intelligence, encompassing different disciplines and expanding our understanding of what it means to be intelligent. As we continue to explore and develop this fascinating frontier, we will uncover new insights and applications, transforming numerous aspects of our daily lives and pushing the boundaries of human and machine capabilities.